Integrity
by ObsessedwReading
Summary: With the First two books read The Seven, Reyna, Nico, Coach Hedge, and some of their oldest friends from Camp Half-Blood are now preparing to read The Titan's Curse. Leo is still hiding some things, and Nico's hiding everything. Can the others get them to open up to them? Or will they have to wait to find out by reading the books? Third book in my series 'Honesty'.
1. Chapter 1

Integrity

Chapter 1

Another day, another book

Author's notes: As I've said before I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus. Everything in bold belongs to Rick Riordan. Enjoy!

One more thing before we start. To Everyone who wants to know. I'm doing all the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, Plus the short story 'The Singer of Apollo', The Demigod Files, The Demigod Diaries, and The Heroes of Olympus books, including the Blood of Olympus.

I've ever considered having them read the Official Guide to PErcy Jackson and The Olympians...I'm not sure about that idea though. And I even briefly considered later (probably after the end of the war) having them read The Kane Chronicles, The Son of Sobek, The Staff of Serapis, and when it comes out The Crown of Ptolemy. Also The Magnus Chase series.

But I'm getting Way ahead of myself. For now I'm just going to concentrate on this fanfiction of them reading _The Titan's Curse_ for the time being.

* * *

The Seven Chosen Heroes, Reyna, Nico, Clarisse, Luke, Chiron and the two satyrs Grover, and Coach Hedge had taken a much needed long break. They had eaten dinner together (though it took some convincing from Jason to get the Son of Hades to join them), and they had decided to put off the third book until the next day. Since they were all tired and somewhat dirty, they had all taken showers and decided to get ready for bed.

Chiron and Coach Hedge shared his room on the Argo II with the Centaur Chiron. Annabeth and Percy were of course sharing his room. Tartarus had done a real number on them and the elder satyr didn't even say a thing about it. Grover and Luke would be sharing Annabeth's room. Clarisse would be sharing with Piper. Hazel had offered to let Reyna room with her; which the daughter of Bellona gratefully accepted. And with a lot of persuasion Jason had gotten Nico to stay with him for the night.

"I think that you should tell them." The two boys, Jason and Nico were in his room settling in for the night.

"Tell who what?" The Son of Hades looked up at him from where he laid on an blown up air mattress on the floor of Jason's room.

Jason sat on his bed in his pajamas, a white tank top with blue and white checkered pajama pants. The Son of Jupiter sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Nico, I think you should tell the rest of the Seven, Reyna, Coach and the others on the ship about what happened in Croatia."

"No." The Ghost king replied adamantly.

"Nico," Jason started again.

"I don't want them to know." Nico argued. "They'll judge me."

"No they won't." Jason protested.

"Yes they will. Everyone always does. I'm the sons of _Hades_."

Jason sighed. "Nico, none of us here care about who your godly parent is. And they won't care about...any of that."

Nico turned away and pulled the blanket over his head promptly ignoring the Son of Jupiter.

Jason sighed in frustration. He pulled the covers up and decided to go to bed.

* * *

"Why did he tell Jason and not me?" Percy asked Annabeth. "I've known him longer!"

The two of them were back in Percy's room in their pajamas ready to go to bed.

"I don't know Percy." The daughter of Athena said. "Maybe when we were...gone they got closer."

"Why won't Nico tell me what's going on though?" Percy looked frustrated. "I mean one minute he's angry over how people have treated me. The next minute he's ignoring me and acting like he can't stand me."

Annabeth sighed. "Percy, maybe he just doesn't feel comfortable telling us what's going on."

"But we've known him for four years!"

"Just because we've known him the longest, doesn't mean that we really _know _him." She told him. "Maybe he was just upset and Jason happened to be there."

"Still," Percy sat on the bed with Annabeth. "Why won't he tell me?"

"I don't know Percy." She admitted. "Come on we should get to bed. We have another big day tomorrow. We're going to read the third and fourth books."

"Don't remind me." He groaned. "I bet they're both in my Point of View too."

"Probably."

"Fantastic."

* * *

The next morning after they had all eaten breakfast (Nico with some wheedling from Hazel, Reyna and Jason), they all took seats and were ready to start the next book. A flash of light temporarily blinded the others and after it faded they saw four people.

"What's going on?" Will Solace asked.

"Hera's summoned all of you to read these books about Percy's Adventures." Annabeth announced. "It's supposed to help us learn everything about each other. Apparently we need that to help us succeed in the war against Gaea."

"Why must we read about a _boy's_ adventures?"

They turned in shock to see Zoe Nightshade, The former lieutenant of Artemis. "Zoe... but...what...how... you're dead!" Thalia said.

"What does thou mean? I am very much alive." Zoe frowned in confusion.

"Wait, where we you before you were brought here?" Piper asked.

"We were getting ready to leave for our quest to rescue Lady Artemis." One of the other girls spoke.

Nico looked up in shock. He recognized that voice. "Bianca?"

Hazel looked at the olive skinned girl. "That's Bianca?" She looked at Nico for confirmation.

Nico's voice seemed to abandon him. He could only look at his younger sister and nod. He stared at his elder sister as if he couldn't believe that he was there.

"Nico?" Bianca said. "Is that really you?" She couldn't believe how different he looked. He was dressed in black jeans, a black skull t-shirt, black steel-toed boots, and a black aviator jacket, along with a skull ring. What had happened to change her brother so drastically in the future? What had happened to the fun loving, energetic little kid brother of hers?

He nodded again, staying silent. He couldn't didn't say anything for fear that he might break down. He couldn't afford that right now.

Zoe seemed to noticed Thalia's outfit for the first time. "You are a Hunter of Artemis in the future?" She looked shocked. "Before you would not leave that because of that _boy_." She glared in Luke's direction.

Luke avoided the Hunters' gazes.

"It will probably be explained in the book." Reyna replied.

"Well, if we're here to read these books shouldn't we get started?" The Oracle asked. "By the way.." She pulled the Son of Poseidon and the daughter of Athena into a crushing embrace." "I'm so glad that you two are okay." They returned the hug gladly.

Rachel took a set beside Annabeth. Zoe sat beside Rachel and Bianca sat beside her with Hazel on her other side.

"It's Leo's turn now to read." Frank reminded them. Jason got the book and handed it to the fire-user. Nico tore his eyes away from his older sister and turned his attention to the third book.

"Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians Book 3: The Titan's Curse." Leo read. He turned to the first page and began to read.

**Chapter 1: My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong**

** The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons**** and took me to a new boarding school. We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the**** way. **

** It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, and I hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for**** my mom. She talks more when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it**** was getting dark, and she'd told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there**** was to tell about me. **

"So you could black mail him if you wanted to?" Leo said with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe..." Thalia trailed off with a smirk.

Percy groaned in reply.

** Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun. "**

** Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and ****slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking**** this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other. **

"Sounds cozy." Rachel said sarcastically.

**"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" my mother asked.**

**"No, thanks, Mom, " I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay. "**

** "But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy. "**

They smiled at that. Percy's mom really was the best.

** I hoped I wasn't blushing. It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my**** battles. **

** "It's okay, Ms. Jackson. " Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked into a**** ski cap and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean. "We'll keep him out of**** trouble. "**

** My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Annabeth is the most levelheaded demigod ever to hit eighth grade. **

"That's because she is." Thalia remarked.

The others nodded. They completely agreed with the daughter of Zeus.

**She's sure Annabeth often keeps me from getting killed. She's right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.**

** "All right, dears, " my mom said. "Do you have everything you need?"**

** "Yes, Ms. Jackson, " Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride. "**

"Thalia's being polite?" Nico said surprised.

The others laughed while Thalia glared at him.

** "Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"**

** "Mom-"**

** "Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"**

** "Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys. "**

** She looked a little hurt, and I was sorry about that, but I was ready to be out of that car. If my mom told one more story about how cute I looked in the bathtub when I was three**** years old, I was going to burrow into the snow and freeze myself to death. **

There were some raised eyebrows at this sentence.

**Annabeth and Thalia followed me outside. The wind blew straight through my coat like ice**** daggers. **

** Once my mother's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy. "**

** "She's pretty okay, " I admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"**

Jason and Thalia winced at the mention of her.

The others looked at them worriedly.

The son of Jupiter just smiled tensely in response while Thalia avoided their gazes.

**As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes she always wears-the ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry, the black eyeliner and those intense blue eyes. But the look she gave me now was a**** perfect evil "ten. "**

** "If that was any of your business, Percy-"**

** "We'd better get inside, " Annabeth interrupted. "Grover will be waiting. "**

Thank the gods for Annabeth. They thought. If she hadn't interrupted them who knows what would have happened.

** Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that**** made him send the distress call. "**

** I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good, " I guessed. **

"No really?" Grover commented with an eye roll.

**The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of**** snow. **

** All I could say was, "Whoa. "**

**The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique**** rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military**** school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally. **

**My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. I could already**** sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver**** bracelet, her favorite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was**** coming. **

They all listened intently as the fire-user continued to read.

** Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where-"**

**The doors slammed shut behind us.**

**"Oo-kay, " I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile. "**

"Well, that was ominous." Piper said shivering a bit.

**I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.**

**We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone**** very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the**** shadows to intercept us. **

**They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman**** had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. **

They snorted in laughter at that statement.

** They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines. **

"You seriously have the weirdest thoughts Percy." Frank shook his head.

**"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"**

** "Um... " I realized I hadn't planned for this. I'd been so focused on getting to Grover and**** finding out what was wrong, I hadn't considered that someone might question three kids**** sneaking into the school at night. We hadn't talked at all in the car about how we would**** get inside. **

"Great," Reyna groaned at their poor planning.

**I said, "Ma'am, we're just-"**

** "Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You**** shall be eee-jected!"**

** He had an accent-French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up**** his nose, and his eyes were two different colors-one brown, one blue-like an alley cat's. **

"That's weird." Hazel frowned.

**I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did**** something very weird. **

** She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of**** us, making the banners rustle on the walls. **

**"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir, " Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm**** Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade. "**

"Good thing Thalia did that." Annabeth commented. "Otherwise we would have been in big trouble."

** The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. I didn't know what Thalia was thinking. Now**** we'd probably get punished for lying and thrown into the snow. But the man seemed to be**** hesitating. **

**He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"**

** Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher**** named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding. **

Chiron's eyes sparkled with humor in them whilst the rest of them laughed.

**The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I... Yes. I believe I**** do, sir. " She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the**** gymnasium?"**

**Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made**** it! You-"**

** He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh-"**

**"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. **

"Probably because he's a satyr." Coach commented. "And we satyrs can sniff out monsters."

**"What do you mean, they made it? These students live here. "**

**Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made... The**** punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"**

Clarisse sighed, Grover was really bad at lying.

"Grover, seriously?" Leo asked pausing in his reading. "As soon as this war is over. You and me lying lessons. Pronto."

"That reminds me Leo." Piper said. "You still haven't answered out questions."

"What questions?" Leo frowned in confusion.

"We asked you earlier why you personally wanted to give Grover lying lessons." Jason reminded him.

"Oh...that..." Leo trailed off. "Well..."

"Don't you even dare think of dodging the question." Annabeth said sternly.

The Fire-user sighed exasperatedly. "Obviously because I've become good at lying over the years."

They all frowned at that statement.

The son of Hephaestus quickly began to read again before they could say anything else.

** Dr. Thorn glared at us. I decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs.**** Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are**** not to leave the gymnasium again!"**

** We didn't wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a**** couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do. **

**Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music.**

Nico groaned internally. He was going to be popping up in the books soon.

**I could feel the teachers' eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia and asked in a**** low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?"**

** "You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"**

"No, he hasn't." Percy answered.

** An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. Chiron was our head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown me anything like that. Why had he shown Thalia and not me? **

Chiron sighed in response.

** Grover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I**** could read that much. **

** "That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"**

** Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. I gave him a big high five. **

**It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human-a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few**** seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto. **

"Definitly the school motto." Leo agreed trying not to laugh. "Don't you agree Reyna? Nico?" The fire-user wiggled his eyebrows and the two of them burst into laughter and the son of Hephaestus joined in soon after.

Everyone else exchanged bewildered looks. What had they missed?

After the three of them had settled down Leo began reading again.

** "So what's the emergency?" I asked.**

** Grover took a deep breath. "I found two. "**

** "Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"**

**Grover nodded. **

** Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many**** demigods out there. **

**"A brother and a sister, " he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."**

** "Monsters?"**

** "One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the**** last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be**** our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I**** don't know what to do!"**

**Grover looked at Thalia desperately. I tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to me for answers,**

"Sorry Perce." Grover winced.

"It's okay G-man." Percy shrugged. "I'm over it."

Leo continued to read.

** but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus. **

** Thalia had more experience than any of us with fending off monsters in the real world.**

**"Right, " she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"**

** Grover nodded. **

** "Then let's dance, " Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"**

** "Oh, " Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr.**** Thorn. "**

"Wonderful!" Clarisse groaned.

Nico and Bianca both shivered remembering their first encounter with Dr. Thorn.

_That's when all of my problems started. _Nico thought sullenly.

Will who noticed Nico's reaction felt concerned for the Son Of Hades.

** Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the**** rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something. **

** There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. **

**Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older**** guys looked more like me-uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to**** hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it**** was true... **

"Unfortunately yes." Percy sighed.

Annabeth just snuggled into his side whilst Leo kept reading.

** "There they are. " Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers.** **"Bianca and Nico di Angelo."**

The others glanced at the mentioned siblings before listening again to Leo reading.

_So this is when they rescued them and then brought them to camp. _Will filed away the information for later.

**The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used ****their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His**** sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed**** something was wrong. **

They looked at Bianca expecting an answer. "I did feel that something was about to go horribly wrong." She admitted.

** Annabeth said, "Do they... I mean, have you told them?"**

** Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they**** realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger. "**

** He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to**** monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful**** a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch. **

"Yum!" The fire-user said over enthusiastically. "'What are we having for lunch today mom?' 'Oh a rare delicacy demigod delight!'"

They others snorted and tried to keep from laughing. They of course failed miserably.

"Where do you come up with this stuff Leo?" Piper asked through her laughter.

"It's all up here Beauty Queen!" He pointed to his head.

She stopped laughing to scowl at him. "Don't call me that."

**So let's grab them and get out of here, " I said. **

** I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow. **

** Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the**** Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here. **

"Fantastic!" Leo said sarcastically. Though his face betrayed that he was worried for Nico. _It happened in the past. Nico's right here. He's completely fine. _He looked over at him as if to reassure himself. He began to read again before the others got suspicious.

** "Don't look at the kids, " Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We**** need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent. "**

** "How?"**

**"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do ****some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids. "**

"I have a bad feeling about this." Hazel frowned.

The others nodded in agreement.

** "Dancing?" Annabeth asked. **

** Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse**** McCartney?"**

** Grover looked hurt. "I did. "**

** "Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"**

** "Green who?"**

** "Never mind. Let's dance. "**

** "But I can't dance!"**

**"You can if I'm leading, " Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy. "**

** Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. **

They laughed at that scene.

** Annabeth smiled. **

** "What?" I asked. **

** "Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back. "**

** Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer, which I found kind of disturbing. She**** used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore**** little silver earrings shaped like owls-the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off**** her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason. **

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at that first sentence of the paragraph but kept silent. She was still cuddling against her boyfriend Percy as she continued to listen to Leo read.

**"So... " I tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told us. When you're a**** half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural? "Um, design any good buildings**** lately?"**

** Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my**** gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this**** cool computer program... "**

** She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up-she loves math**** and historical buildings and all that-but I hardly understood a word she was saying. **

The daughter of Athena shook her head before smiling fondly and saying. "Seaweed Brain."

Percy just grinned at her a gave her a kiss in response.

**The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It**** was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often. **

** It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough**** to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an**** all-girls school, and I was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, I hardly ever saw them. **

** Yeah, uh, cool, " I said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"**

**Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't-"**

** "Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over**** himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet**** were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy. **

Grover looked slightly offended at that line.

** "Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."**

** I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym. **

** "Well?" Annabeth said. **

** "Um, who should I ask?"**

** She punched me in the gut. "Me, Seaweed Brain. "**

The rest of their demigod friends grinned at that part.

**"Oh. Oh, right. "**

** So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing**** things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about**** to judo throw me. **

** "I'm not going to bite, " she told me. "Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your**** school?"**

** I didn't answer. The truth was we did. But I'd never, like, actually danced at one. I was**** usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner. **

The girls rolled their eyes.

** We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl-anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller**** than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes. **

** "What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble at school or something?"**

** She pursed her lips. "It's not that. It's my dad. "**

** "Uh-oh. " I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father. "I thought it was ****getting better with you two. Is it your stepmom again?"**

** Annabeth sighed. "He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took**** this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco!'**

** She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment or Hades's gym shorts. **

"Hey!" The Roman demigods protested.

"Sorry," Annabeth responded.

"And please don't bring my Hazel's and my dad's Gym shorts into this." Nico shuddered.

Hazel nodded in agreement looking a little green.

Bianca's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Hazel is our...sister?" She looked at her younger brother.

"Yes, she's a Roman Demigod, daughter of Pluto, Hades Roman side." Nico responded avoiding looking at his sister. _Don't get attached. She's still going to die once she gets sent back to her time where she belongs. She'll still die and there's nothing that you can do about it. _He reminded himself.

The daughter of Hades seemed to realize that he hadn't mentioned her in his statement. _He said Hazel's and my dad. He didn't ever say anything about me being his sister._

** "So he wants you to move out there with him?" I asked.**

** "To the other side of the country, " she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San**** Francisco. He should know that. "**

** "What? Why not?"**

** Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought I was kidding. "You know. It's right there!'**

** "Oh, " I said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn't want to sound stupid. **

The blonde girl sighed in exasperation. "Seaweed Brain." She repeated her earlier statement.

**"So... You'll go back to living at camp or what?"**

** "It's more serious than that, Percy. I... I probably should tell you something. " ****Suddenly she froze. "They're gone. "**

**"What?"**

** I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no**** longer there. **

They tensed extremely worried for the two of them.

Thalia remembered what happened to Annabeth on the quest for the fleece to heal her. She reminded herself to give the daughter of Athena a stern talking to later. She had assured her that she had not in anyway, been injured on that quest. She had lied to her.

They were best friends they were supposed to share everything. Annabeth had even told her about how she had had a secret crush on Percy since they were twelve. But she hadn't bothered telling her that she had been injured on that quest.

**The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight. **

** "We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"**

** She ran through the crowd. I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way. I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time I was free, Annabeth had disappeared. I turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, I saw something that chilled my blood. **

** About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one**** Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I**** caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens. **

Jason glanced at Nico subconsciously as if to remind himself that he was okay. This happened a few years ago. He's completely fine now. Well...maybe not _completely _fine. He was still struggling to accept himself for who he was.

When Jason thought of everything that Nico Di Angelo had been through he felt like hugging him and telling him that everything would be okay. Though if he did that, Nico would probably punch him... or shove him. An angry Nico Di Angelo was not somebody you wanted to mess with.

**I still couldn't see Annabeth, but I knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for**** Thalia and Grover. **

** I almost ran after her, and then I thought, Wait. **

** I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall, looking at me all puzzled when I asked about the finger-snap trick: Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet? I thought**** about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day. **

** Not that I resented Thalia. She was cool. It wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got**** all the attention... Still, I didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I**** found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself**** I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn. **

Chiron sighed at Percy's thoughts and actions. Maybe if he had shown Percy how to manipulate the mist when he taught Thalia then things would have been different. He might not have gone after the Di Angelos' by himself. But then again if he hadn't they might not have gotten there in time to save the two siblings.

** The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful ****grunt. I uncapped Riptide. **

** The pen grew in my hands until I held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of**** lockers. **

** I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a**** door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't**** see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. **

** They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me. **

"Why? Were you having a really bad hair day?" Leo joked trying to loosen the tension.

Percy snorted in reply. "Yeah, Definitly. That's why Nico and Bianca were terrified of me."

** I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. "**

** They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial**** bronze weapons. **

"I only wish he had." Percy sighed.

Grover, Thalia, and Annabeth nodded their agreement.

** "My name's Percy, " I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of**** here, get you somewhere safe. "**

** Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant. **

**She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me.**

"You mean it wasn't because you were having a bad hair day?" Leo replied with a twinkle of humor in his eyes.

"Nope, me and my hair were perfect that day." Percy said with a flair of dramatics. "Even with the monster fighting that happened later."

** I whirled around and something went WHI1ISH! Pain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a ****huge hand yanked me backward and slammed me to the wall. **

** I slashed with my sword but there was nothing to hit. **

**A cold laugh echoed through the hall.**

**"Yes, Perseus Jackson" Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled the J in my last name. "I know**** who you are. "**

** I tried to free my shoulder. My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of**** spike-a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my**** shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I'd felt something like this**** before. Poison. **

Tyson looked concerned. "You were poisoned brother!?"

"I'm alright now Tyson." Percy reassured him. "I'm all healed up now."

"You are sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine now."

The young Cyclops nodded. He seemed to find this an acceptable answer.

Will frowned worriedly. He glanced at Percy and then Annabeth. He remembered the note that appeared in the dining pavilion in the sacrificial flames. That was when they had learned of Percy and Annabeth's terrible fate. Luckily it seemed the two of them were alright, at least on the outside. But as a healer he knew that some scars ran deeper. Some of them were emotion. After going through hell, literally, he wouldn't be surprised to hear that they were having nightmares.

** I forced myself to concentrate. I would not pass out. **

** A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes**** reflected the light of my sword. **

**"Thank you for coming out of the gym, " he said. "I hate middle school dances."**

**I tried to swing my sword again, but he was just out of reach. **

** WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to**** move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives. **

"Annabeth?" Reyna guessed looking at said girl.

She nodded in response.

** Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch**** from her face. **

** "All three of you will come with me, " Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately**** I can throw. "**

"That's the end of the first chapter." Leo replied. He gave the book to Luke who turned the page and began to read nervously.

* * *

Authors notes: So here's the beginning of Integrity. They'll be reading the third book in this one. I hope that you all enjoy reading this fanfiction just like the first two. Also I have no idea if Bianca knew about Nico's crush on Percy, or his sexual orientation. I'm assuming that she doesn't and I'll have her find out with the rest of them. Since Nico was very reluctant to tell anyone about it I don't think he would have told Bianca. Considering what time they were from he might have though she would hate him for it. Which she won't don't worry. And WillXNico will appear in this fanfiction. So if you are opposed to this paring or just their sexual orientation in general. I suggest you either ignore it. I'm sticking to what the books say and Uncle Rick writes that Nico develops a Crush on the Son of Apollo so... that's going to be in here eventually.


	2. Chapter 2

Integrity

Chapter 2

Lukes' turn to read

Author's notes: As I've said before I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus. Everything in bold belongs to Rick Riordan. Enjoy!

One more thing before we start. To Everyone who wants to know. I'm doing all the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, Plus the short story 'The Singer of Apollo', The Demigod Files, The Demigod Diaries, and The Heroes of Olympus books, including the Blood of Olympus.

I've ever considered having them read the Official Guide to Percy Jackson and The Olympians...I'm not sure about that idea though. And I even briefly considered later (probably after the end of the war) having them read The Kane Chronicles, The Son of Sobek, The Staff of Serapis, and when it comes out The Crown of Ptolemy. Also The Magnus Chase series.

But I'm getting Way ahead of myself. For now I'm just going to concentrate on this fanfiction of them reading _The Titan's Curse_ for the time being.

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Vice Principal Gets A Missile Launcher**

All of them looked really worried at the chapter's title.

Luke cleared his throat before he nervously began to read.

**I didn't know what kind of monster Dr. Thorn was, but he was fast. **

** Maybe I could defend myself if I could get my shield activated. All that it would take was**** a touch of my wrist-watch. But defending the di Angelo kids was another matter. I needed**** help, and there was only one way I could think to get it. **

** I closed my eyes. **

"How's that going to help?" Leo looked confused.

"You'll see." Grover told him.

**"What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!"**

** I opened my eyes and kept shuffling forward. "It's my shoulder, " I lied, trying to sound**** miserable, which wasn't hard. "It burns. "**

**"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"**

** Thorn herded us outside, and I tried to concentrate. I pictured Grover's face. I focused on**** my feelings of fear and danger. Last summer, Grover had created an empathy link between us. **

"Oh!" Piper said understanding now what Percy's plan was.

** He'd sent me visions in my dreams to let me know when he was in trouble. As far as I knew, we were still linked, but I'd never tried to contact Grover before. I didn't even know if**** it would work while Grover was awake. **

** Hey, Grover! I thought. Thorn's kidnapping us! He's a poisonous spike-throwing maniac! Help!**

They snorted in laughter at the though despite the danger the three demigods were in.

**Thorn marched us into the woods. We took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned**** lamplights. My shoulder ached. The wind blowing through my ripped clothes was so cold that**** I felt like a Percysicle. **

They snorted once again.

** "There is a clearing ahead, " Thorn said. "We will summon your ride. "**

** "What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"**

** "Silence, you insufferable girl!"**

** "Don't talk to my sister that way. '" Nico said. His voice quivered, but I was impressed**** that he had the guts to say anything at all. **

Nico looked surprised at this but he stayed silent.

**Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. It made the hairs stand up on**** the back of my neck, but I forced myself to keep walking and pretend I was being a good**** little captive. Meanwhile, I projected my thoughts like crazy-anything to get Grover's**** attention: Grover! Apples! Tin cans! Get your furry goat behind out here and bring some**** heavily armed friends!**

Laughter echoed on the Argo II.

"Did you hear him?" Jason asked once they calmed down enough to speak.

"Yep." Grover said.

** "Halt, " Thorn said. **

"Who goes there!?" Leo added on.

They laughed again for a few brief seconds.

**The woods had opened up. We'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, I sensed the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. I could hear the waves churning and I could smell the cold salty froth. But all I could see was mist and darkness. **

**Dr. Thorn pushed us toward the edge. I stumbled, and Bianca caught me. **

** "Thanks, " I murmured. **

** "What is he?" she whispered. "How do we fight him?"**

They all wondered the exact same thing with the exception of Grover, Thalia, Percy, Bianca, Nico and Annabeth who had been there.

** "I... I'm working on it. "**

"How reassuring." Reyna said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Gods of Olympus!" Leo looked shocked. "Reyna has a sense of humor! She knows the art of sarcasm! There's hope for her after all."

They couldn't help but laugh at Leo's statement. The daughter of Bellona raised an eyebrow at his statement looking quite amused herself.

** "I'm scared, " Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something-a little metal toy soldier of**** some kind. **

** "Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"**

** We turned. **

** Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first I thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and**** said, "The package-it is ready to deliver. "**

**There was a garbled reply, and I realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way**** too modern and creepy-a monster using a mobile phone. **

They snorted in reply.

"What did you expect Percy?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," He admitted, "but not that."

**I glanced behind me, wondering how far the drop was. **

** Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump!There is the sea. Save yourself. "**

** "What did he call you?" Bianca muttered. **

** "I'll explain later, " I said. **

** "You do have a plan, right?"**

** Grover! I thought desperately. Come to me!**

"Grover!" Leo called. "Come to me!" He acted like he was doing a séance.

They laughed at Leo's imitation of Percy, even the son of Poseidon couldn't help but laugh.

**Maybe I could get both the di Angelos to jump with me into the ocean. If we survived the**** fall, I could use the water to protect us. I'd done things like that before. If my dad was**** in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe. **

** "I would kill you before you ever reached the water, " Dr. Thorn said, as if reading my**** thoughts. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"**

"A monster?" Leo supplied.

He got a few eye rolls in reply, including the three huntresses.

** A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to me that it**** nicked my ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn-like a catapult, but more flexible...**** almost like a tail. **

** "Unfortunately, " Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead. "**

** "Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong.**** We don't have any family. Nico and I... " Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each**** other. "**

Looks of pity were sent at the two children of Hades.

Nico promptly ignored them while Bianca gave a small sad smile in response.

Luke continued to read on.

** "Aww, " Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon**** enough. Then you will have a brand-new family. "**

** "Luke, " I said. "You work for Luke. "**

** Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when I said the name of my old enemy-a former**** friend who'd tried to kill me several times. **

Luke winced at that line before continuing.

**"You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service**** tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you. "**

**"The General?" I asked. Then I realized I'd said it with a French accent. "I mean... Who's**** the General?"**

"So like this?' Leo pronounced the name with a perfect French accent.

"Yep, exactly like that." Percy replied.

** Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation. "**

** I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the**** chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer. **

** "Where are you taking us?" Nico said. **

** "You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls. "**

** "They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and-"**

Reyna was surprised how brave Nico was in that moment. He was only a kid but he had stood up to a monster. She found herself reappraising his merits. He didn't even know what was going on at that time.

** "Now, now, " Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if**** you do not, well... There are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to**** feed. The Great Stirring is underway. "**

**"The Great what?" I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to figure out a plan. **

Annabeth nodded in approval at her boyfriends' idea.

** "The stirring of monsters. " Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have**** the most important monster of all-the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"**

** "Okay, " Bianca whispered to me. "He's completely nuts. "**

** "We have to jump off the cliff, " I told her quietly. "Into the sea. "**

** "Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too. "**

They laughed at Bianca's response.

"Well, I guess it would seem pretty crazy since they didn't know about our world yet." Frank commented.

Bianca nodded in agreement, "It did seem crazy." She glanced at Nico who was still avoiding her gaze. He was completely ignoring her. She felt a twinge of hurt at the thought. Why was her brother pretending that she didn't exist? What had she done to make him so mad at her?

Her eyes went to the cocoa skinned girl sitting next to him. What had he said her name was...Hannah? Haley?. No, Hazel that was her name. She was their half-sister. She shared the same Godly parent (their father). She couldn't help but be a little upset that Nico was acting as if she didn't exist.

** I never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into**** me. **

** Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant. Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and me, knocking us to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. **

** This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind-Thalia wielding her magic**** shield, Aegis. **

** If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She uses**** a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses-also**** called Aegis-a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into**** the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will**** panic and run at the sight of it. **

"That's pretty useful." Will commented. The others nodded, even Zoe reluctantly agreed.

**Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it. **

** Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"**

** I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the**** spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against**** Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced**** like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet. **

** The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me, but I didn't dare look. Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time I could see how he did it. He had a tail-a leathery, scorpionlike tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. **

They looked from Grover, to Thalia, to Percy, to Annabeth, and then to the Di Angelos' worriedly. How were they going to get out of this predicament?

**The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down. **

** Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play-a frantic jig**** that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within**** seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him. **

** Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form-his face**** still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly**** thorns in all directions. **

** "A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off**** when she'd plowed into us. **

** "Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"**

** "A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving**** throws!"**

"Huh?!" The other demigods said in confusion.

Frank, Percy, Bianca, Thalia, and Grover were the only ones who didn't seem baffled by that statement.

"What's he talking about?" Will asked.

"Mythomagic." Frank responded, "It's a trading card game. The book will probably explain it more though."

"Oh, I've heard of that." Rachel said. "Isn't it a game based on Mythology?"

The son of Apollo nodded and Luke continued to read on.

**I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl. **

** "Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, I remembered my own shield. I hit my wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they**** dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from my brother, was badly damaged. I wasn't**** sure it would even stop a second volley. **

"Well, that sucks." Piper said sympathetically.

"Yep, sure does." Percy replied. "I really liked that shield."

"Couldn't you just ask Tyson to repair it?" Reyna asked.

"I did and he did." The son of Poseidon responded.

"What?" Hazel said in confusion.

"I asked Tyson and he did repair it." Percy clarified.

Tyson nodded. "I fixed brothers' shield." Having said his piece he went back to tinkering. He was starting to make something big out of it. What it was was still a mystery though. Leo had finished drawing Reyna and had now begun to draw Nico next to her; listening to the conversation as he did so.

"Then why did you use 'liked' as in past tense?" Jason questioned looking back at the other demigod.

"I'm sure the book will explain it." Annabeth reassured them. She motioned for Luke to continue reading.

**I heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to me with a thud. **

** "Yield!" the monster roared. **

** "Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, I thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that**** looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was**** it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster?**

The demigods and satyrs were wondering exactly that. Why would mortals work with monsters?

** The searchlights blinded**** Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the**** snow. Her spear flew in the other direction. **

**"No!" I ran out to help her. I parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. **

Jason looked a little pale at the thought. He could've lost his sister another time without even realizing it.

** I raised my shield over us, but I knew it wouldn't be enough. **

** Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes. "**

** We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. **

"Not very good, odds." Reyna remarked.

"Definitly not." Nico agreed.

They smiled faintly at each other before Luke read on.

**We had no chance. **

** Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods. **

** The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind**** and the chopping of the helicopter blades. **

** "No, " Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be-"**

** His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A**** glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder. **

"That would be the Hunters of Artemis." Annabeth told them.

"I thought you guys weren't planning on telling us anything." Frank commented.

"You'll be finding it out in a minute anyways." The daughter of Athena shrugged.

**He staggered backward, wailing in agony.**

**"Curse you!" Thorn cried.**

"That's not very nice." Leo frowned as he continued to draw.

"When are monsters ever nice Leo?" Hazel pointed out.

"True, true." He nodded at her before returning to his drawing.

"Actually..." Percy began, "Medusa's sisters kept trying to get me to eat cheese 'n wieners before they killed me."

Leo snorted in laughter while Jason said. "Seriously?"

Percy nodded. "Though they did poison it with their blood so..."

"When was this?" Annabeth frowned not recalling anything like that.

"On my way to Camp Jupiter." Percy said. "I'm sure it will be in the books."

** He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but my eyes must've been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy. **

The three huntresses looked smug at that line. Even though Bianca and Thalia hadn't been a part of the Hunters at that point in time.

** The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was**** heavy. I tried to swipe at him with my sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He**** dodged my attack and slammed his tail into my shield, knocking me aside. **

** Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions. **

** "The Hunters!" Annabeth cried. **

** Next to me, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful. "**

Zoe shot the daughter of Zeus a quick glare before turning back to the book.

Bianca looked a little hurt at the statement even knowing that it probably wasn't directed at her seeing as she wasn't one of Artemis's huntresses then.

Thalia looked away feeling a bit guilty at the way she had acted.

** I didn't have a chance to ask what she meant. **

** One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top**** of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to**** kill, my lady?"**

** I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore. **

"I was talking to Lady Artemis, boy." Zoe said. "Who else would I have been talking too?"

"The Manticore?" Percy offered.

She shot him a deadly glare in response.

"That was a rhetorical question Seaweed Brain." Annabeth told him.

"I knew that."

** The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient**** Laws. "**

** "Not so, " another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or**** thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow**** like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made me catch my breath, but her expression was**** stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul**** creature, are a wild beast. " She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted. "**

Glances were shot at the mentioned Huntress before looking back to the book.

** The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"**

** He lunged at Thalia and me, knowing we were weak and dazed. **

They looked worriedly at the two demigods.

'Percy and Thalia are fine. See they're right here.' Coach told himself glancing at the mentioned Half-Bloods. 'See there's nothing to worry about.'

** "No. " Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster. **

** "Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"**

** But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The**** manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear**** life. **

The others paled considerably at that.

** "Fire!" Zoe ordered. **

** "No!" I screamed. **

** But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress!**** You shall pay!"**

**And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over**** the cliff and tumbled into the darkness. **

They're were gasps and shrieks at that line.

"I'm right here!" Annabeth called. "If I wasn't okay I wouldn't be here with you guys now."

They calmed down a little at that but they were still very worried for the daughter of Athena.

** "Annabeth!" I yelled. **

** I started to run after her, but our enemies weren't done with us. There was a snap-snap-****snap from the helicopter-the sound of gunfire. **

** Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the**** girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter. **

** "Mortals, " she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt. "**

**She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust-no, not dust. The black**** metal dissolved into a flock of birds-ravens, which scattered into the night. **

**The Hunters advanced on us. **

** The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You, " she said with distaste. **

** "Zoe Nightshade. " Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual. "**

They frowned at that line wondering why they seemed to hate each other. 'Didn't Zoe say that Thalia refused to leave Luke?' They all recalled the earlier conversation between the two of them before they had begun the first chapter.

** Zoe scanned the rest of us. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady. "**

** "Yes, " the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see. "**

** "Annabeth!" I yelled. "You have to let us save her!"**

** The auburn-haired girl turned toward me. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is**** beyond help. "**

"Gee thanks." Annabeth said sarcastically.

"Oh no Percyitis is catching!" Leo shouted. "Save yourselves!"

They all rolled their eyes at his antics.

**I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of the girls held me down. **

** "You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs, " the auburn-haired girl said. **

** "Let me go!" I demanded. "Who do you think you are?"**

** Zoe stepped forward as if to smack me. **

"I was about to." Zoe admitted when the others gave her questioning looks. "If Lady Artemis hadn't said something I would have."

** "No, " the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does**** not understand. "**

** The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am**** Artemis, " she said. "Goddess of the Hunt. "**

"That's the end of this chapter." Luke told them avoiding their gazes. He handed the book to the Son of Hades who sighed.

"Do I have to read the next chapter?" Nico complained.

"Yes, you do." Annabeth said firmly.

Nico sighed exaggeratedly, "But I don't want to read."

"Sorry It's your turn Nico you have too." Annabeth told him.

"But I don't want to read about my 10 year old self." Nico complained.

Annabeth gave him a stern look.

Hazel gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. He gave her a small sad smile before reading.

* * *

Authors notes: Sorry it took a few days. I was babysitting today. I'll be doing the same thing tomorrow, but I'll try to start working on the next chapter. I LOVE Comments and especially criticism. How am I going to become a better writer if you guys don't criticize me?


	3. Chapter 3

Integrity

Chapter 3

Nico's Dilemma

Author's notes: As I've said before I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus. Everything in bold belongs to Rick Riordan. Enjoy!

To the Guest reviewer who wanted to know the point of me bringing in Bianca and Zoe who are dead in the future (and from the past) and Luke who said he'd try for rebirth. We're just going to pretend that Luke hasn't yet left Elysium to be reborn. Bianca has, the reason that they were brought back was that people wanted them to come and read with them. Bianca because they thought that it would help Nico with everything that's going on, Zoe because she is a big part of this book.

...

* * *

**Chapter 3: Bianca Di Angelo Makes A Choice**

"Of course I had to get this chapter." Nico grumbled.

Jason frowned at that wondering what the Son of Hades could possibly mean by that. He was about to ask him when the Son of Hades continued to read somewhat reluctantly.

** After seeing Dr. Thorn turn into a monster and plummet off the edge of a cliff with**** Annabeth, you'd think nothing else could shock me. But when this twelve-year-old girl told**** me she was the goddess Artemis, I said something real intelligent like, "Um... Okay. "**

They snorted in response.

**That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started**** yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... You're so... Wow!"**

** "Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"**

They all fell silent at the reminder.

** "Whoa, " Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out. "**

**Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying**** to connect the dots. "Who... Who are you people?"**

** Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are**** you! Who are your parents?"**

They listened intently hoping to find out more about the son of Hades.

** Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis. **

** Our parents are dead, " Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our**** school, but... "**

** She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her. **

Bianca nodded in agreement with the last statement.

** "What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth. "**

** "You are a half-blood, " Zoe Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old- fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian. "**

** "An Olympian... Athlete?"**

"Yes, all of our parents are Olympian athletes." Leo said seriously. "Percy's dad in an Olympic swimmer, Frank's dad is an Olympic road cycler."

The others snorted. "You're making the last category up." Piper accused.

"No, it seriously is a real category in today's Olympics." Leo told them.

"Really?" Jason said in disbelief.

"Yep." Leo nodded. "Now, where was I? Oh and Annabeth's mom is-"

"Maybe we should just keep reading?" Rachel suggested cutting of the son of Hephaestus.

"Good idea." Annabeth agreed. She gestured for Nico to continue.

** "No, " Zoe said. "One of the gods. "**

** "Cool!" said Nico. **

** "No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"**

Nico groaned at the next couple of lines. The others raised their eyebrows at his reaction.

Reyna looked over his shoulder to see what the fuss was about. When she saw the next few paragraphs she laughed softly. "Just go on and read Nico. The sooner you read the sooner it will all be over with."

The son of Hades sighed before reading on.

** Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for-"**

They all looked amused at the last few lines. Nico read on ignoring them.

The son of Apollo grinned at how Nico used to be. He was an energetic, lovable little kid. Then he frowned suddenly wondering what had happened to the kid he used to be.

** "Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic**** game, okay? There are no gods!"**

** As anxious as I felt about Annabeth-all I wanted to do was search for her-I couldn't help**** feeling sorry for the di Angelos. I remembered what it was like for me when I first learned**** I was a demigod. **

**Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well... Our**** lives are dangerous. "**

"Amen to that." Reyna said quietly. She then sighed sadly remembering her own troubled past. She didn't mean for the others to hear but they had anyways. They all looked at the daughter of Bellona in surprise. What had happened to Reyna in the past to make her say that? Is seemed so out of character for the normally brave, confident, and strong Praetor of New Rome.

Nico read on before they could ask the girl who was becoming like another sister to him any questions. She shot him a quick look of gratitude before she went back to listening to him read. The others had noticed that look as well. What exactly was in Reyna's past that she didn't want to discuss? What didn't they know about the female Praetor? Come to think of it...why had she acted weird when they had read about Percy and Annabeth washing up at Circe's spa and resort. She hadn't even been there...or had she? Maybe she was the unnamed girl.

** "Dangerous, " Bianca said, "like the girl who fell. "**

They all looked solemn at the reminder.

Bianca winced before apologizing. "That was insensitive. I'm sorry."

"It's fine Bianca." Annabeth assured her.

** Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained. **

** "Do not despair for Annabeth, " the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be**** found, I shall find her. "**

** "Then why won't you let us go look for her?" I asked. **

The other demigods who hadn't been there were asking themselves the same question.

** "She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know**** exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished. "**

** I still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for her, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right. Annabeth was gone. If she'd been down there in the sea, I thought, I'd be able**** to feel her presence. **

They all looked a little down and depressed at the last paragraph. They hoped that Annabeth was okay, wherever she was.

**"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with**** arrows! Is he dead?"**

** "He was a manticore, " Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never**** truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they**** reappear. "**

** "Or they'll hunt us, " Thalia said. **

"That's right." Frank sighed.

** Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains... Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"**

** "And that bus driver, " Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real. "**

Hazel glanced at her brother worriedly at that sentence. "You guys weren't hurt...were you?" She glanced from Bianca to Nico.

"We were fine, Hazel." Nico assured her. The daughter nodded sighing with relief as Nico went back to reading.

**"That's why Grover has been watching you, " I said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to**** be half-bloods. "**

** "Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"**

** "Well, a satyr, actually. " He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. I thought**** Bianca was going to faint right there. **

"It was a little overwhelming." Bianca said.

**"Grover, put your shoes back on, " Thalia said. "You're freaking her out. "**

** "Hey, my hooves are clean!"**

They all laughed at that part. Chiron chuckled softly even Zoe couldn't help but let a small smile show.

** "Bianca, " I said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr.**** Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp. "**

** "Camp?" she asked. **

** "Camp Half-Blood, " I said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join**** us, stay there year-round if you like. "**

** "Sweet, let's go!" said Nico. **

Leo grinned at Nico's enthusiasm. In fact he acted similar on their way to Camp Half Blood. "You were such a cute kid Nico."

Nico glared at him, and mumbled something that sounded like "Shut up Valdez." But he said it in a way that Leo knew he was only teasing him. Nico wasn't really all that upset with him. The son of Hades didn't want to say anything to hurt the Son of Hephaestus anymore than he already had been hurt by the other demigods.

Leo just smiled at him with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. The son of Hades knew what that meant. Leo was planning something and he doubted that he would like whatever it was. Nico decided to keep reading.

** "Wait, " Bianca shook her head. "I don't-"**

** "There is another option, " Zoe said. **

** "No, there isn't!" Thalia said. **

** Thalia and Zoe glared at each other. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I could tell there was bad history between them. For some reason, they seriously hated each**** other. **

"Yep." Luke sighed remembering their first encounter with the Hunters of Artemis. It was right before they had met Annabeth and Hal. Luke frowned at the sad thought and shook his head trying to get rid of it.

**"We've burdened these children enough, " Artemis announced. "Zoe, we will rest here for a**** few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the**** school. "**

** "Yes, my lady. "**

** "And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you. "**

Nico looked at the book hoping that he wouldn't have to read about what was coming next. He wasn't seriously going to have to read about his sisters conversation with Artemis right? With his luck he probably would have to.

** "What about me?" Nico asked. **

** Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while... As a favor to me?"**

** Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"**

** Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and**** a bunch of other geeky stuff. **

Nico made a face after reading that line before he read on.

**Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The**** Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp. **

** Zoe gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things. **

** As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those**** Hunters! They think they're so... Argh!"**

"And yet you joined them?" Piper said with raised eyebrows.

** "I'm with you, " I said. "I don't trust-"**

** "Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on me furiously. "What were you thinking back there in**** the gym, Percy? **

"Well, I know what you were thinking now." Thalia murmured.

**You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster!"**

** "If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved.**** Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?"**

Chiron frowned at Thalia in disapproval of her actions.

Annabeth looked upset at the daughter of Zeus. "Seriously Thalia? He risked his life to save Nico and Bianca. He did the right thing. By the time we would have gotten there it would have been to late to save them."

"I know," She looked ashamed of her past self's actions. "I was just upset and took it out on him." She turned to the son of Poseidon. "Sorry Percy."

"It's alright." He gave her a smile in return to let her know that all was forgiven.

Chiron smiled at the exchange. Maybe Hera was right. Maybe the books were helping in more ways than one. She had even brought back Zoe nightshade (as she was relevant to the book they were now reading) and Nico's elder sister Bianca (who had died) from the past (to help Nico with whatever he was dealing with).

**My jaw clenched. I thought of some harsh things to say, and I might've said them too, but**** then I looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at my feet. Annabeth's New**** York Yankees baseball cap. **

** Thalia didn't say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving me alone with a trampled cap in the snow. **

** The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. **

**Seven large tents, all of**** silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a**** silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling**** the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely**** unafraid, but I decided I would stick close to the tents. Falcons watched us from the**** trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and I got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the ****wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire. **

** Almost... Except for the pain in my shoulder and the guilt weighing me down. I couldn't believe Annabeth was gone. And as angry as I was at Thalia, I had a sinking feeling that**** she was right. It was my fault. **

"No, it's not Percy!" Annabeth disagreed.

"She's right. I only said that because I was grieving." Thalia told him firmly. "It was in no way your fault."

Percy gave them a half-smile in response.

**What had Annabeth wanted to tell me in the gym? Something serious, she'd said. Now I might**** never find out. I thought about how we'd danced together for half a song, and my heart felt**** even heavier. **

**I watched Thalia pacing in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without**** fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming**** on the hillside beyond the woods. I wondered what she was thinking. **

"What were you thinking about?" Piper asked curiously.

"I was thinking about everything going on with Luke and with Annabeth." She told them.

**Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from**** dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in**** order to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. She'd only been back as a human**** for a few months now, and once in a while she would stand so motionless you'd think she was**** still a tree. **

Thalia raised an eyebrow at that last sentence but stayed silent.

** Finally, one of the Hunters brought me my backpack. Grover and Nico came back from their**** walk, and Grover helped me fix up my wounded arm. **

** "It's green!" Nico said with delight. **

The other demigods grinned at how younger was acting.

Bianca smiled warmly. Her smile faded when she remembered how different Nico was in the future. A frown replaced the smile that was there only a few moments before.

"You were such a cute kid Nico!" Piper squealed.

Nico shot her a glare and said. "I'm the Ghost King. I'm not cute."

They laughed at that except for Bianca and Zoe who had no idea what they were talking about.

"Ghost King?" Bianca asked in confusion.

"It'll be explained in the book." Her younger brother told her before going back to reading.

Bianca looked visibly hurt that Nico barely acknowledged her presence.

Hazel gave her half-sister a small smile, and squeezed her shoulder to comfort her.

The huntress gave her a small smile before they went back to listening to the book.

** "Hold still, " Grover told me. "Here, eat some ambrosia while I clean that out. "**

**I winced as he dressed the wound, but the ambrosia square helped. It tasted like homemade**** brownie, dissolving in my mouth and sending a warm feeling through my whole body. Between**** that and the magic salve Grover used, my shoulder felt better within a couple of minutes. **

They all looked a bit better at that sentence. Their worry lessened a little bit.

** Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though**** how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, I didn't know. Nico laid out a bunch of**** figurines in the snow-little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. I recognized Zeus**** with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot. **

** "Big collection, " I said. **

**Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for**** a few really rare ones. "**

Will smiled at younger Nico's antics. He remembered the boy when he first came to camp. He had acted the same; but then the next time he had seen him in the Battle of the Labyrinth he had totally changed. He was no longer the kid he used to be.

** "You've been playing this game a long time?"**

** "Just this year. Before that... " He knit his eyebrows. **

** "What?" I asked. **

** "I forget. That's weird. "**

Will frowned worriedly at that. _Had he had Amnesia or something?_

** He looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"**

** I showed him Riptide, and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword just by uncapping**** it. **

** "Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"**

They laughed at past Nico's enthusiasm.

"Does it?" Leo asked the Son of Poseidon.

"You know...I'm not sure." Percy said thoughtfully.

**"Um, well, I don't actually write with it. "**

** "Are you really the son of Poseidon?"**

"Nope he's the son of Tyche." Reyna said sarcastically.

"You know that would really be ironic with his rotten luck." Piper commented

"I know right?" Reyna and Piper smiled at each other. They were real genuine smiles.

Coach looked happy that the two girls seemed to be starting to get along. _Hera's right. The books are helping a lot more than we ever thought._

** "Well, yeah. "**

** "Can you surf really well, then?"**

** I looked at Grover, who was trying hard not to laugh. **

The rest of the demigods and satyr looked the same way at the present moment.

** "Jeez, Nico, " I said. "I've never really tried. "**

** He went on asking questions. Did I fight a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? (I didn't answer that one. ) **

"Do you?" Hazel asked curious.

"Quite a bit actually." Percy said thinking about it.

**If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Annabeth know better than to fall off a cliff? (I tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one. ) **

"I didn't fall off the cliff." Annabeth said indignantly. "I jumped on the manticore's back to save you Percy, Thalia, Grover and Bianca. The Manticore jumped off the cliff while I was hanging onto his back."

**Was Annabeth my girlfriend? (At this point, I was ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves. )**

"Thanks." Nico responded dryly. A brief expression of hurt flickered across his face though before he composed himself. He took a deep breath and continued to read.

Percy had noticed this. He felt a little guilty at hurting Nico's feelings. It wasn't like he knew that they'd be reading books about his thoughts later on though. Still Percy was really frustrated with the Son of Hades. What was it with Nico? He was acting so bi-polar. One minute he hated him and the next he didn't.

** I figured any second he was going to ask me how many hit points I had, and I'd lose my cool**** completely, but then Zoe Nightshade came up to us. **

** "Percy Jackson. "**

** She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty that I had to resist the urge to sit up straight and say "Yes, ma'am. " **

Zoe smirked in satisfaction at that line.

**She studied me distastefully, like I was a bag of dirty**** laundry she'd been sent to fetch. **

** "Come with me, " she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee. "**

**Zoe led me to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved me**** inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to the auburn-haired girl, who I still had trouble**** thinking of as Artemis. **

**The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. **

** In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others I didn't recognize. I figured an animal rights activist would've had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins,**

"I think you've been hanging out to much with Grover Jackson." Clarisse observed. "You're starting to become concerned with animals and the environment."

"But that's a good thing!" Grover protested. He shot Percy a smile. "I'm glad that you've seen the light, Perce. It's nice to see that you care about the environment. All due to my influence of course."

"Of course." Annabeth commented.

** but maybe since Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, she could ****replenish whatever she shot. **

"She can boy." Zoe replied. She acted as if speaking to him was a dirty job that she had to do but wish she didn't.

** I thought she had another animal pelt lying next to her, and**** then I realized it was a live animal-a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head**** resting contentedly in Artemis's lap. **

** "Join us, Percy Jackson, " the goddess said. **

** I sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied me, which made me**** uncomfortable. She had such old eyes for a young girl. **

** "Are you surprised by my age?" she asked. **

** "Uh... A little. "**

** "I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is**** what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am**** patron, before they go astray. "**

** "Go astray?" I asked. **

** "Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget**

** themselves. "**

** "Oh. "**

** Zoe sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at me as if all the stuff Artemis had just said ****was my fault, like I'd invented the idea of being a guy. **

"No, that was Prometheus and Epimetheus." Reyna corrected absently. "With some help from Athena. They created man."

The others nodded at that little bit of information before the Son of Hades continued to read.

** "You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you, " Artemis said. "It is very rare**** that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with**** the Hunters. The last one to see this camp... " She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"**

** "That boy in Colorado, " Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope. "**

** "Ah, yes. " Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, Percy, I've**** asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of**** the... Mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd**** like to hear them from you. "**

** And so I told her. **

**When I was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was**** the answer. "**

They other frowned in confusion.

** Zoe sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"**

** "Yes. "**

**"What scent?" I asked. **

** "Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia, " Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I ****have nearly forgotten. "**

** She stared at me intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the ****one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said. "**

** "Um, 'I hate middle school dances. '"**

They snorted in laughter at Percy's response.

**"No, no. After that. "**

** "He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me. "**

** Zoe's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised**** her hand. **

** "Go on, Percy, " the goddess said. **

The demigods wondered what they were talking about.

** "Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot-"**

** "Stirring, " Bianca corrected. **

** "Yeah. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all-the one that**** shall bring about the downfall of Olympus. '"**

** The goddess was so still she could've been a statue. **

They glanced at each other in worry.

"The Orphiotaurus." Luke murmured.

**"Maybe he was lying, " I said. **

** Artemis shook her head. "No. He was not. I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt**** this monster. "**

** Zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave**** right away, my lady. "**

** "No, Zoe. I must do this alone. "**

** "But, Artemis-"**

** "This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search.**** You cannot go there with me. "**

** "As... As you wish, my lady. "**

"Is any one else totally confused and has no idea what they're talking about?" Leo asked.

The others (with exceptions of Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Chiron, Luke and Thalia) nodded in confirmation.

"Okay, just checking to make sure that I wasn't the only one." Leo said going back to his drawing. He began to draw Nico right next to Reyna.

**"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter**** solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much**** danger we are in."**

** "You know what the monster is?" I asked. **

** Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong. "**

** "Can goddesses pray?" I asked, because I'd never really thought about that. **

"I suppose they could." Chiron told them.

** A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a**** small task for you. "**

** "Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?"**

They laughed at the thought.

**"Sadly, no. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there**** in safety until I return. "**

** "What?" Zoe' blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed**** there-"**

** "Yes, I know, " Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of**** a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in**** need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down. "**

"They did." Luke confirmed.

The others looked surprised that Luke had said something. He had been quiet for the most part.

** Zoe muttered something about foolish campers. **

** "And now there is one last decision to make. " Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"**

Nico gripped the book as he read. _Why did I have to get this chapter to read?_

**Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it. "**

** "Wait, " I said. "Thinking about what?"**

** "They... They've invited me to join the Hunt. "**

They glanced at said girl who was dressed in hunters attire.

** "What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the**** only way you can learn to survive. "**

** "It is not the only way for a girl, " Zoe said. **

** I couldn't believe I was hearing this. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and**** a sword-fighting arena and... I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?"**

** "To begin with, " Zoe said, "immortality. "**

Thalia, Zoe, and Bianca nodded in affirmation.

**I stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"**

** "Zoe rarely kids about anything, " Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures.**** They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal... Unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their ****oath. "**

** "What oath?" I said. **

** "To foreswear romantic love forever, " Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married.**** To be a maiden eternally. "**

** "Like you?"**

** The goddess nodded. **

Piper thought. How would her life had been different if she had joined the Hunters of Artemis? Would she still be a part of the prophecy of seven? She probably wouldn't have been Jason's girlfriend or be friends with either of them anymore.

**I tried to imagine what she was saying. Being immortal. Hanging out with only middle-school girls forever. I couldn't get my mind around it. "So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods-"**

**"Not just half-bloods, " Zoe interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All**

** who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals-"**

** "Which are you, then?"**

**Anger flashed in Zoe's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if**** she wishes. It is her choice. "**

** "Bianca, this is crazy, " I said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter. "**

"Nope." Percy replied.

**"Certainly not, " Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys**** can do. "**

** "Hey!" I protested. **

The other males demigods in the room had the same thought.

** "You can see him from time to time, " Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of**** responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a**** new family. Us. "**

** "A new family, " Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility. "**

Nico looked hurt as he read that line. He forced his mask of indifference back in place and kept reading.

Bianca looked guiltily at her brother before she looked back to the book.

** "Bianca, you can't do this, " I said. "It's nuts. "**

** She looked at Zoe. "Is it worth it?"**

** Zoe nodded. "It is. "**

Thalia agreed wholeheartedly with the daughter of Atlas.

**"What do I have to do?"**

** "Say this, " Zoe told her, " 'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. '"**

** "I... I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. "**

The son of Hades looked pained while he read on.

**"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt. '"**

** Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?"**

** Zoe nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding. "**

** "I accept it, " Artemis said. **

The other demigods couldn't believe that Bianca would just leave her brother like that. That she would just join the hunters with no regard to her brother's feelings on the matter. She had abandoned him practically.

** The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no ****different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel... Stronger. "**

**"Welcome, sister, " Zoe said. **

** "Remember your pledge, " Artemis said. "It is now your life. "**

** I couldn't speak. I felt like a trespasser. And a complete failure. I couldn't believe I'd**** come all this way and suffered so much only to lose Bianca to some eternal girls' club. **

"You're not a failure Percy." Luke told him.

Percy looked surprised at Luke's statement.

"Thanks." He said a little uneasily.

** "Do not despair, Percy Jackson, " Artemis said. "You will still get to show the di Angelos**** your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there. "**

** "Great, " I said, trying not to sound surly. "How are we supposed to get there?"**

** Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island**** quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother. "**

**Zoe didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her. **

They glanced at each other. Was this what had caused Nico to change so drastically, his sister leaving him to join the Hunters of Artemis?

** As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of me. "I'm sorry, Percy. But I want this. I**** really, really do. "**

** Then she was gone, and I was left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess. **

** "So, " I said glumly. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"**

** Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one ****with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo. "**

"Finished." Nico announced. He handed the book to Percy before returning to his seat and promptly ignoring him.

Percy sighed in response and started to read. He planned to talk to Bianca later. Maybe she could get Nico to tell them what was going on with him.

* * *

Authors notes: Sorry for the wait. What do you guys think of this chapter?


	4. Chapter 4

Integrity

Chapter 4

Percy's Persuasion

Author's notes: As I've said before I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians, or The Heroes of Olympus. Everything in bold belongs to Rick Riordan. Enjoy!

...

* * *

**Chapter 4: Thalia Torches New England**

They raised eyebrows at the title of the chapter.

"That sounds like something Leo would do." Frank commented.

"Yeah it does." Hazel agreed with her boyfriend.

"What?!" Leo protested, "I would never do anything like that!"

"You torched New Rome." Reyna pointed out.

"Not on purpose! That was because of the eidolons!"

Percy shook his head and began to read.

** Artemis assured us that dawn was coming, but you could've fooled me. It was colder and**** darker and snowier than ever. Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely**** lightless. I wondered if the teachers had even noticed the di Angelos and Dr. Thorn were**** missing yet. I didn't want to be around when they did. With my luck, the only name Mrs.**** Gottschalk would remember was "Percy Jackson, " and then I'd be the subject of a nationwide**** manhunt... Again. **

"With your luck, who knows." Annabeth said.

The others nodded in agreement.

** The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set it up. I stood shivering in the snow (unlike the Hunters, who didn't seem to feel at all uncomfortable), and Artemis stared into**** the east like she was expecting something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico. I**** could tell from his gloomy face that she was explaining her decision to join the Hunt. I**** couldn't help thinking how selfish it was of her, abandoning her brother like that.  
**

The others agreed with Percy at that statement.

"I agree, if I had known that Jason was still alive. I would have never joined the hunt." Thalia said firmly.

Jason gave his sister a thankful smile.

"I can see now why Nico didn't want to talk about you." The daughter of Bellona said coldly. "I wouldn't want to speak with you either after what you did." The feelings and thoughts reminding her of her older sister Hylla who abandoned her for the Amazons. She at least came to her aide when Camp Jupiter was attacked but she left soon after.

Leo shot a glare at the mentioned daughter of Hades for hurting his friend. He had started to become closer to the son of Hade, not to mention the daughter of Bellona as well. He felt strangely protective over the two of them.

Hazel hugged her brother who sat on the other side of her. He returned the hug gladly. _At least he had one sister who he knew would never abandon him for the hunters of Artemis or the Amazons._ Nico thought.

** Thalia and Grover came up and huddled around me, anxious to hear what had happened in my**** audience with the goddess. **

**When I told them, Grover turned pale. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go**** well. "**

** "How'd they even show up here?" I wondered. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere. "**

** "And Bianca joined them, " Thalia said, disgusted. "It's all Zoe's fault. That stuck-up, no good-"**

Said huntress glared at the daughter of Zeus furiously.

Thalia ducked her head in guilt.

** "Who can blame her?" Grover said. "Eternity with Artemis?" He heaved a big sigh.**

** Thalia rolled her eyes. "You satyrs. You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that**** she'll never love you back?"**

** "But she's so... Into nature, " Grover swooned. **

They raised eyebrows at the satyr who blushed in response.

** "You're nuts, " said Thalia.**

** "Nuts and berries, " Grover said dreamily. "Yeah. "**

They laughed at the satyr's antics.

** Finally the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so-o-o lazy during the winter. "**

**"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" I asked.**

** "For my brother. Yes. "**

**I didn't want to be rude. I mean, I knew the legends about Apollo-or sometimes Helios-**** driving a big sun chariot across the sky. But I also knew that the sun was really a star**** about a zillion miles away. I'd gotten used to some of the Greek myths being true, but**** still... I didn't see how Apollo could drive the sun. **

"Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said affectionately.

Percy grinned at her in response before he went back to reading.

**"It's not exactly as you think, " Artemis said, like she was reading my mind.**

** "Oh, okay. " I started to relax. "So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a-"**

**There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.**

**"Don't look, " Artemis advised. "Not until he parks. "**

** Parks?**

** I averted my eyes, and saw that the other kids were doing the same. The light and warmth**** intensified until my winter coat felt like it was melting off of me. Then suddenly the**** light died. **

** I looked. And I couldn't believe it. It was my car.**

"You have a car Percy?" Will raised his eyebrows.

"Nope," Percy told them, "Don't worry the book will explain it."

** Well, the car I wanted, anyway. A red convertible Maserati Spyder. It was so awesome it glowed. Then I realized it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why I was now standing on green grass and my shoes were wet. **

**The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and for a second, I had**** the uneasy feeling it was Luke, my old enemy.**

Luke raised an eyebrow at that. "You thought that I looked like Apollo?"

"Maybe,"

** This guy had the same sandy hair and**** outdoorsy good looks. But it wasn't Luke. This guy was taller, with no scar on his face**** like Luke's. His smile was brighter and more playful. (Luke didn't do much more than scowl**** and sneer these days. ) The Maserati driver wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt. **

** "Wow, " Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot. "**

They laughed at her comment, while Luke fought down a twinge of jealously.

** "He's the sun god, " I said. **

** "That's not what I meant. "**

**"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without**** the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"**

** Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister. "**

** "Hey, I was born first. "**

"I'm pretty sure that Artemis was born first." Annabeth interjected. "If I'm remembering the story right."

** "We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue-"**

** "So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on**** archery?"**

** Artemis grit her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to**** take my companions to Camp Half-Blood. "**

**"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming**** on. "**

** The Hunters all groaned. Apparently they'd met Apollo before. **

"We have." Zoe affirmed.

** He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically. **

** "Green grass breaks through snow. **

** Artemis pleads for my help. **

** I am so cool. "**

**He grinned at us, waiting for applause.**

** "That last line was only four syllables, " Artemis said. **

** Apollo frowned. "Was it?"**

** "Yes. What about I am so big-headed?"**

They laughed at Artemis's reply.

"I think that Aunt Artemis has him pegged." Will grinned in response.

They others nodded in response.

** "No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm. " He started muttering to himself.**

**Zoe Nightshade turned to us. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever**** since he visited Japan. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear**** one more poem that started with, There once was a goddess from Sparta-"**

** "I've got it!" Apollo announced. "I am so awesome. That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself. **

Chiron sighed and shook his head.

** "And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll. "**

** "These demigods will also need a ride, " Artemis said, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers. "**

**"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see... Thalia, right? I've heard all about you. "**

** Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo. "**

** "Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're**** back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time-"**

The three huntresses sighed exasperatedly.

** "Brother, " Artemis said. "You should get going. "**

** "Oh, right. " Then he looked at me, and his eyes narrowed. "Percy Jackson?"**

** "Yeah. I mean... Yes, sir. "**

** It seemed weird calling a teenager "sir, " but I'd learned to be careful with immortals. **

"Really?" Nico said in disbelief. "I don't believe that."

"Why?" Jason asked in confusion.

"Oh you'll see what I mean later on."

**They tended to get offended easily. Then they blew stuff up.**

**Apollo studied me, but he didn't say anything, which I found a little creepy. **

** "Well!" he said at last. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way-west. And if you**** miss it, you miss it. "**

** I looked at the Maserati, which would seat two people max. There were about twenty of us.**

"That will be a problem." Leo commented.

The others nodded in agreement with the son of Hephaestus.

** "Cool car, " Nico said.**

**"Thanks, kid, " Apollo said. **

** "But how will we all fit?"**

"Hey, Nico and I had the same thoughts!" Leo exclaimed.

Nico rolled his eyes at the son of Hephaestus while Percy continued to read.

** "Oh. " Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change**** out of sports-car mode, but I suppose... "**

**He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. Chirp, chirp.**

**For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been**** replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses like we used for school basketball games. **

** "Right, " he said. "Everybody in. "**

** Zoe ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that. "**

** Zoe recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously. **

** "Brother, " Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or**** flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart. "**

"Yep, the whole no contact with boys thing." Reyna replied studying her finger nails. "Including male gods." She shot another quick glare at the daughter of Hades for abandoning her younger brother for as Percy had put it 'an eternal girls club'. It hit a little too close to home with Hylla leaving her for the Amazons, whilst Bianca left Nico for the Hunters of Artemis.

**Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"**

** "Hunting, " Artemis said. "It's none of your business. "**

** "I'll find out. I see all. Know all. "**

"Well, that makes him sound like a creepy stalker." Leo told them.

** Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"**

** "No, no! I never mess around. "**

"I find that very hard to believe." Nico snorted.

**Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at us. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoe, you**** are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do. "**

** Zoe straightened. "Yes, my lady. "**

** Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked**** troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found. "**

"What Beast?" Frank frowned.

"You'll find out." Percy interrupted himself before he continued to read.

**She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows. **

** Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So, " he said. "Who wants to drive?"**

** The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as**** possible from Apollo and the rest of us highly infectious males, Bianca sat with them, leaving her little brother to hang in the front with us, which seemed cold to me, but Nico**** didn't seem to mind. **

"That's because I was too excited at the prospect of the gods being real and all of that." Nico said in reply to their questioning looks.

** "This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"**

** "Downsizing, " Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple**** sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job**** descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at**** least I got this cool car. "**

"It is a pretty sweet car though." Leo said. He started to draw their chaperone Coach Hedge right behind Reyna and Nico in his drawing.

They had to agree with him there. It was a pretty cool car.

**"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"**

** Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You**** want to talk about how humans think about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've**** got a lot riding on the sun... Er, so to speak. **

**It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers**** engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams**** about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the**** sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a**** manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"**

** Nico shook his head. "No. "**

They all burst into laughter at that. "Well, at least he's honest." Coach chuckled.

**"Well then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car. "**

** "Can I drive?"**

** "No. Too young. "**

** "Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand. **

**"Mm, no, " Apollo said. "Too furry. " **

"Too furry?" Piper said raising an eyebrow.

Will just shrugged in response. "Who knows?"

Rachel shook her head.

**He looked past me and focused on Thalia.**

**"Daughter of Zeus!" he said. "Lord of the sky. Perfect. "**

**"Oh, no. " Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks. "**

**"C'mon, " Apollo said. "How old are you?"**

**Thalia hesitated. "I don't know. "**

She glared at the pitying looks that she received.

** It was sad, but true. She'd been turned into a tree when she was twelve, but that had been seven years ago. So she should be nineteen, if you went by years. But she still felt like**** she was twelve, and if you looked at her, she seemed somewhere in between. The best Chiron**** could figure, she had kept aging while in tree form, but much more slowly. **

** Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen. "**

** "How do you know that?"**

** "Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week. "**

"Right, the great prophecy." Hazel realized.

Percy, Thalia, Grover, and Annabeth nodded in response.

**"That's my birthday! December twenty-second. "**

** "Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!"**

** Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh-"**

Thalia groaned and buried her hands in her face. If these books were in Percy's point of view then they'd all find out about her fear of heights.

Jason gave his elder sister a worried look which she shrugged off. "I'm fine just remembering something that happens in this book."

The son of Poseidon read on before anymore questions could be asked.

**"I know what you're going to say, " Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honor like driving**** the sun chariot. "**

** "That's not what I was going to say. "**

** "Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what**** happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast you out**** of the sky. "**

** Apollo laughed good-naturedly. The rest of us didn't join him. **

"I don't blame you there." Luke said.

The son of Hermes seemed to be becoming more at ease around the other demigods, Satyrs, and centaur. He was starting to comment more during the books and even talk to them; which was a big improvement from sitting there silently.

**Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. I had to read it backward (which, for a dyslexic, really isn't that different than reading**** forward). I was pretty sure it said WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER. **

** "Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural!"**

** I'll admit I was jealous. I couldn't wait to start driving. A couple of times that fall, my**** mom had taken me out to Montauk when the beach road was empty, and she'd let me try out her**** Mazda. I mean, yeah, that was a Japanese compact, and this was the sun chariot, but how**** different could it be?**

"A lot different." Grover answered.

**"Speed equals heat, " Apollo advised. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good**** altitude before you really open her up. "**

**Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going**** to be sick. **

Jason and the others frowned in concern at that statement.

** "What's wrong?" I asked her. **

** "Nothing, " she said shakily. "N-nothing is wrong. "**

** She pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast I fell back and**** crashed against something soft. **

** "Ow" Grover said.**

**"Sorry. "**

** "Slower!" Apollo said. **

** "Sorry!" Thalia said. "I've got it under control!"**

"Are you sure?" Leo said looking up from his drawing, "Because it really doesn't seem like it."

Thalia shot a glare at him in response before Percy read on.

**I managed to get to my feet. Looking out the window, I saw a smoking ring of trees from the**** clearing where we'd taken off. **

** "Thalia, " I said, "lighten up on the accelerator. "**

** "I've got it, Percy, " she said, gritting her teeth. But she kept it floored. **

** "Loosen up, " I told her. **

** "I'm loose!"Thalia said. She was so stiff she looked like she was made out of plywood. **

Chiron glanced at the daughter of Zeus worriedly wondering what was going on with her.

** "We need to veer south for Long Island, " Apollo said. "Hang a left. "**

**Thalia jerked the wheel and again threw me into Grover, who yelped. **

** "The other left, " Apollo suggested. **

**I made the mistake of looking out the window again. We were at airplane height now-so high the sky was starting to look black. **

"That can't be good." Leo commented.

"Nope, it definitely isn't." Nico added.

The two gave each other hesitant smiles.

** "Ah... " Apollo said, and I got the feeling he was forcing himself to sound calm. "A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over. "**

** Thalia tilted the wheel. Her face was chalk white, her forehead beaded with sweat.**

**Something was definitely wrong. I'd never seen her like this. **

** The bus pitched down and somebody screamed. Maybe it was me. Now we were heading straight**** toward the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the New England coastline off to our**** right. And it was getting hot in the bus.**

Annabeth looked worriedly at her friend. What exactly was the problem with Thalia?

**Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus, but he started climbing up the**** rows of seats. **

** "Take the wheel!" Grover begged him. **

"Yes, take the wheel." Leo agreed earning another glare from the daughter of Zeus.

**"No worries, " Apollo said. He looked plenty worried. "She just has to learn to-WHOA!"**

** I saw what he was seeing. Down below us was a little snow-covered New England town. At**** least, it used to be snow-covered. As I watched, the snow melted off the trees and the**** roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to smolder. **

**Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.**

"Hence the title." Annabeth realized.

"No really?" Clarisse commented sarcastically.

**"Pull up!" I yelled. **

** There was a wild light in Thalia's eyes. She yanked back on the wheel, and I held on this time. As we zoomed up, I could see through the back window that the fires in the town were being snuffed out by the sudden blast of cold. **

"Well, at least the fires have been put out." Piper pointed out.

** "There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let's slow down, dear. 'Dead' is only an**** expression. "**

** Thalia was thundering toward the coastline of northern Long Island. There was Camp Half- Blood: the valley, the woods, the beach. I could see the dining pavilion and cabins and the amphitheater. **

** "I'm under control, " Thalia muttered. "I'm under control. "**

They looked at her clearly not believing her statement.

** We were only a few hundred yards away now. **

** "Brake, " Apollo said. **

** "I can do this. "**

** "BRAKE!"**

** Thalia slammed her foot on the brake, and the sun bus pitched forward at a forty-five-**** degree angle, slamming into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge FLOOOOOOSH! Steam**** billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven**** wicker baskets. **

"Those poor Naiads." Leo said mournfully.

They looked at the fire-user in confusion as if thinking 'Since when does Leo care about the Naiads'?

Percy shook his head and began to read on.

**The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half-melted canoes.**

**"Well, " said Apollo with a brave smile. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under**** control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"**

"Finished with this chapter." Percy told them. "How about we have a break now?"

The others nodded. They decided to go and have a snack before they continued to read.

* * *

Just as Bianca was about to follow them Percy grabbed her arm. She looked back in surprise. "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you could talk to Nico for me." He told her letting go of her arm.

"What for?" she looked understandably confused.

"He's been acting... weird towards me."

"How so?" A look of intrigue and concern came over her.

"One minute he acts like he totally hates me and wants nothing to do with me. Then it's like we're friends again and he's worried about how people have treated me in the past. I just don't get what's going on with him." Percy sighed in frustration.

"I wish that I could help Percy." Bianca said sincerely. "But he's completely ignoring me right now. I really don't think that he'll listen if I try to talk to him."

"You're his sister though." The Son of Poseidon replied. "Please Bianca, can you at least try to figure out what's going on with him?"

She sighed in resignation. "I suppose that I could try to talk to him." She said after a moment of silence.

His eyes lit up. "Thanks Bianca." He went to join the others in the dining area.

Bianca stood there for a few minutes thinking of how to approach her brother and what to say to him. She steeled her nerves and walked to the dining area to see her brother. She entered the dinning area and scanned the faces there. She didn't see her brother among them. She frowned in worry. She noticed also that the other girl who had been sitting on his other side was also gone along with the elder satyr.

"Hey," She approached her younger half-sister Hazel. "Have you seen Nico around?"

"Oh, hi Bianca" The daughter of Pluto responded, "No I haven't seen him since we left the room for the break. Sorry about that."

"He might be with Reyna." Luke commented. They turned to look at him. "What? Have you all seen they way they're connected? They rarely ever seem leave each other's side. They have a tight bond."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "It does seem that way. Maybe they're in the infirmary?"

Bianca looked worried. "Why would they be in the infirmary? What's wrong with Nico?"

Will looked worried as well at that statement.

"Reyna wouldn't say anything to the rest of us." Piper told her.

"In fact she told us off for being crappy friends towards Leo and Nico." Frank added.

"Well, it seems like you guys have been." Clarisse responded. They shot glares at her. "What, it's true, don't deny it."

They all looked down feeling guilty. "Do you know what's going on with Nico?" Hazel questioned.

Leo realized with surprise that they were directing the question to him. "No, I don't." He admitted. "Reyna and Nico haven't said anything to me about whatever is wrong with Nico. Only the two of them and Coach Hedge know what's happening and they aren't saying anything."

"Maybe I should talk with Gleeson about young Nico? I'll see if I can find out what I troubling him, and more about his condition." Chiron informed them.

"Would you Chiron?" Percy asked hopefully.

He nodded in reply, "I'll see what I can find out." The centaur unfolded his wheelchair and ducked under the doorway and made his way to the infirmary.

* * *

Chiron ducked under the doorway of the infirmary and entered. He was met with the sight of Nico lying on one of the cots with Reyna and Coach Hedge by his sides. Coach Hedge seemed to be using some Nature magic to help Nico with his condition... whatever it was.

"Chiron." Nico noticed him first. The son of Hades sat up quickly.

"Nico, may I ask what is your condition?"

He looked away from the centaur.

"Very well, if you won't answer my question." He turned to their chaperone. "Gleeson, do you care to tell me what's going on with Mr. di Angelo?"

The satyr sighed and gave Nico a guilty look. "Sorry kid, I have to tell him. You're one of his campers. It's my job to protect you and Chiron may be able to help."

"Fine," Nico bit out. Reyna gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

Coach Hedge began to tell the centaur about Nico's condition in as much detail as he could. The Centaur was looking extremely worried by the time he had finished explaining everything. "I suggest that we get Will and inform him about what is going on with Nico. I think he may be able to help him more."

When Chiron came to get him Will didn't know what to expect. He hadn't said anything to them about Nico. He had just asked Will to follow him to the infirmary. What was going on with Nico? Why did he come to get him? Will shook his head and entered the infirmary behind the centaur. After they explained once more about Nico's condition this time to the Son of Apollo he went to work right away asking the younger demigod questions.

"How long has this been going on?" Will asked looking worried. He held a clipboard which he had found in a drawer of the bedside table and began writing things down on it.

Nico stayed silent. Reyna sighed before speaking. "Nico, if you don't tell him everything about your conditions, he won't be able to help you. Please Nico, think about me, think about Leo, think about _Hazel _."

"Since before I got on the Argo II." He mumbled.

"Where were you before then? What were you doing?"

Nico froze he knew that question would be coming. That didn't mean he had to like it though. He didn't want to think about _that_ place. He decided to try to get away with a half-truth. "I was trapped in a giant bronze jar by the giants Otis and Ephilates."

Will stopped writing abruptly. "What?" A look of worry overcame the son of Apollo's face.

He ignored the look on Will's face and mumbled the last part. "I survived by going into a death trance for days using pomegranate seeds from my stepmother Persephone."

"Did anything else happen before that? Anything that you haven't told me yet?" He demanded. A fierce feeling of protectiveness came over him.

The son of Hades was taken aback by Will's worry and protectiveness. It reminded him strangely of Jason after he had found out his secret.

"No." He answered after a few moments.

"I don't believe you." Nico looked up at the son of Apollo's answer. "You took a while to answer, so it was obvious that you were trying to think of an answer or a way out of this question, well, questions."

"Nico, please just answer all of his questions so he can help you." Reyna said.

"I was..." He swallowed before trying to speak again. "I was in Tartarus."

..

* * *

Authors notes: I decided not to take these down. No one has said anything to me about it being against the copyright laws or fanfiction rules. Besides I can't just leave all the guest reviewers high and dry like that. If it is against the rules surely fan fiction will say something about it to me... right? If it is it'll be my first offense so I eon't have my count frozen or deleted right?


	5. Chapter 5

Integrity

Chapter 5

Piper's Protectiveness

Author's notes: I think I might continue these on here as long as I can find proof that they do not violate the copyright laws and the rules of fanfiction. But since I don't think that is going to happen... Well here's one more chapter for the run. Unless you guys can find proof for me..?

I'm pretty sure that it at least violates one rule of fanfiction. The "Copying from a previously published work (including musical lyrics) not in the public domain." and quite possibly the "Multiple entries of the same material. There can only be one copy of any unique story on the entire site. No exceptions."

And Unless there's solid tangible proof that this is not against the copyright laws of fanfiction rules then I can't continue this at least online. I already feel really guilty about writing this chapter as it is...

* * *

They're reactions were not quite what he was expecting. "What?" Will said in a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat before he continued. "What? How?"

"I thought that I could go anywhere in the underworld." He spoke to Reyna more than Will. "I went looking for the doors of death to close them. I got captured by Gaea's servants though, then I was in the bronze jar until, Leo, Piper, Jason, Percy, Frank, and Hazel came to rescue me."

Reyna looked properly horrified at the thought of what he had probably had to go through. She pulled him into a tight hug surprising him. It was nice though. It reminded him of his sister Bianca's hugs. _Stop that, Reyna doesn't deserve to be compared to Bianca or Hazel. They're much better sisters than she ever was. They would never abandon me for the Hunters of Artemis or the Amazons._ Nico thought.

"So this has been happening since then?" Will said trying to keep a neutral expression on his face. He couldn't believe that the boy he cared about had gone through literally hell. He had gone through Tartarus to try to close the doors of death on his own. All he wanted to do was hug him and tell him that everything would be alright. But how could he promise him that? They still had a war to deal with. _What if he didn't make it- No don't think like that._ Will chided himself. Nico would make it through this war. He would make sure of it, no matter what happened.

"Don't tell the others please," Nico asked. "Especially Hazel. I don't want her to worry."

"What about Bianca?" Will asked.

"I don't think that he wants her to know." Reyna answered for him.

Nico nodded in agreement going along with the daughter of Bellona. "We should probably get back to the others so that we can start reading." The Son of Hades said.

"No." Will said firmly.

Nico raised his eyebrows at him.

"You're not moving from that bed until you can Shadow Travel without the danger of fading out of existence." Will replied sternly.

"We have to finish the books otherwise Her...Juno...whatever you want to call her will get upset." Nico replied. "And that's not something any of us want to say. Whether we like her or not she's still a goddess."

"How about we get the others in here to read with us?" Reyna compromised. "We can move the chairs in here so everyone can sit comfortably."

Will nodded in approval of her reasoning. "I'll go get the others and tell them about the change of the reading location. He gave the son of Hades a stern look. "Stay here, no shadowy, underworldy magic." He told him. "Doctor's orders."

"You're not a real doctor!" He called after him in protest. The son of Apollo completely ignored his last sentence.

Reyna smiled at him and shook her head at her younger brother figure. "You know he's only doing what's best for you Nico."

Nico groaned out loud and laid down on the cot to wait for the others to arrive. It wasn't long before the others and the chairs had been moved into the infirmary and the other beds pushed to the side.

They got all of the books and Piper had the book opened to the next chapter.

* * *

Piper cleared her throat before she began to read.

**Chapter 5: I Place an Underwater Phone Call**

There were a few raised eyebrows at this but they stayed silent.

**I'd never seen Camp Half-Blood in winter before, and the snow surprised me. **

**See, the camp has the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Mr. D, wants it to. I thought it would be warm and sunny, but instead the snow had been allowed to fall lightly.**

**Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. I wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something. **

They started laughing at that.

"Seriously Perce?" Grover laughed.

Percy just grinned at them. "What? It could happen."

"Sure, it could." Rachel said rolling her eyes. But she had a good natured smile on her face as she said it.

"Well, if it's you as the oracle then maybe." Annabeth joined in grinning.

"Yep, because that's totally what I do in the winter." Rachel said sarcastically. "I sit in the attic of the big house roasting marshmallows."

"You do?" The Son of Hephaestus said completely serious but there was a glimmer in his eyes.

"It was a joke Leo." Piper deadpanned.

"I knew that." The fire user replied going back to his drawing. Piper sighed before continung to read the chapter.

**"Whoa, " Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"**

**"Yeah, " I said. **

**"Why is there lava pouring down it?"**

**"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met-"**

"They've been there before remember? So why wouldn't they know Chiron?" Clarisse pointed out.

**"I know Chiron, " Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me. "**

**"I'll show you the way, " Grover offered. **

**"We know the way. "**

**"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"-he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking-"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"**

They shook their heads laughing at the satyr's antics.

Piper caught her breath and then read on.

**Zoe rolled her eyes, but I guess she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brothers ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away. **

Bianca remembered that moment. It was shortly before she and Zoe had gone to their cabin to ready themselves from the quest.

**"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at me. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon. "**

**"What do you mean?"**

**Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia, " he called. "And, uh, be good!"**

"Be good?" Jason frowned in confusion. He looked to his sister but she avoided his gaze. She wondered how they'd all react when they found how she had almost given in and joined Luke's side during the war. She grimaced at the thought.

** He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. I turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When I looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing**** brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight. **

** Nico was still looking grumpy. I wondered what his sister had told him. **

"Nothing good, I guess." Luke commented.

Nico nodded in response.

** "Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine. "**

** "Our activities director, " I said. "He's... Well, you'll see. **

** "If those Hunter girls don't like him, " Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's ****go. "**

Chiron raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"Sorry," The son of Hades mumbled an apology.

** The second thing that surprised me about camp was how empty it was. I mean, I knew most half-bloods only trained during the summer. Just the year-rounders would be here-the ones**** who didn't have homes to go to, or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left. **

** But there didn't even seem to be many of them, either. **

** I spotted Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp**** armory. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, from the Hermes cabin, were picking the lock**** on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the**** wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it. Even my old rival from the Ares**** cabin, Clarisse, didn't seem to be around. **

"Where were you?" Frank asked curious.

"A mission for Chiron and the camp." She replied curtly.

Frank gave his sister a concerned look at her tone. Something was going to happen in this book that Clarisse didn't want them to know.

** The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air**** smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game**** of cards in the parlor. **

**Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer.**

**He wasn't posing as a teacher this year, so I guess he could afford to be casual. He wore a**** fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost**** hid his wheelchair completely. **

They glanced at Chiron before returning their attention to the book

**He smiled when he saw us. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be-"**

**"Nico di Angelo, " I said. "He and his sister are** **half-bloods. "**

** Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then. "**

** "Well... "**

** His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"**

They all looked solemn at the reminder that once again Annabeth was gone.

** "Oh, dear, " Mr. D said in a bored voice, "Not another one lost. "**

** I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his**** neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. (Like Mr. D had ever**** run a day in his immortal life. ) A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly**** black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards. **

** "What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?"**

They listened intently to hear what was happening.

**Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red**** lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!"**

** Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about. " He glanced at Nico. **

** "Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation ****film. "**

** "But... Oh, right. Yes, sir. "**

** "Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict-"**

The mentioned girl smiled and shook her head at her younger brother.

** "It's PG-13, " Grover said. **

** "Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room. **

**"Now, " Chiron said to Thalia and me, "perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole**** story. "**

** When we were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Annabeth**** immediately. "**

Annabeth smiled at the centaur who easily returned the smile.

** "I'll go, " Thalia and I said at the same time. **

Annabeth kissed her boyfriend on the cheek and then proceeded to hug Thalia. She had such amazing friends and boyfriend.

** Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"**

** Thalia and I both started complaining, but Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if we didn't shut up. **

**"From what you have told me, " Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell-"**

** "Annabeth, " I snapped. She'd gone to camp since she was seven, and still Mr. D pretended**** not to know her name. **

** "Yes, yes, " he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace her.**

"Hey!" Nico protested. He sent the book a glare as if it were Dionysus himself.

The others laughed at Nico's response.

** So I see no**** point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great**** that this Annie girl is dead. "**

** I wanted to strangle Mr. D. It wasn't fair Zeus had sent him here to dry out as camp director for a hundred years. It was meant to be a punishment for Mr. D's bad behavior on Olympus, but it ended up being a punishment for all of us. **

** "Annabeth may be alive, " Chiron said, but I could tell he was having trouble sounding**** upbeat. He'd practically raised Annabeth all those years she was a year-round camper, before she'd given living with her dad and stepmom a second try. "She's very bright. If... If**** our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate. "**

They all nodded in agreement.

Annabeth smiled at each one of their friends before Piper read on.

** "That's right, " Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive. "**

** "In which case" said Mr. D, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her**** own. "**

** I got up from the table. **

** "Percy. " Chiron's tone was full of warning. In the back of my mind, I knew Mr. D was not**** somebody to mess with. Even if you were an impulsive ADHD kid like me, he wouldn't give you**** any slack. But I was so angry I didn't care. **

"I have a feeling this is not going to end well." Reyna commented.

** "You're glad to lose another camper, " I said. "You'd like it if we all disappeared!"**

** Mr. D stifled a yawn. "You have a point?"**

** "Yeah, " I growled. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have**** to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping out a**** little!"**

All of the demigods jaws dropped.

"Percy!" Annabeth said horrified.

"Are you suicidal?" Jason demanded.

""I think he is." Reyna said. "Honestly."

"Why would you say something like that to a god Percy?" Grover gasped. "And Dionysus at that!"

"And that's what I meant when I said I didn't believe him earlier." Nico told them.

**For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected in Mr.** **D's eyes, giving him a sinister look. He opened his mouth to say something-probably a curse ****that would blast me to smithereens-when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover. **

** "SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out** **to Chiron. "You're... You're a centaur!"**

**Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. Di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to**** stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters. "**

** "And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"**

"By the way." Percy interrupted turning to Nico. "Thanks for that. If you hadn't come bursting in with Grover at that moment I would probably be dead." He nodded in Grover's direction as well. "Thank you too Grover."

"No problem Perce."

"You're welcome." Nico mumbled.

** Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look of loathing. "The wine dude?"**

** "Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine. "**

** "My figurine. "**

**"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like**** five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think**** your powers are sweet!"**

** "Ah. " Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. "Well, that's... gratifying. "**

"Thanks again for that you two." Percy repeated.

** "Percy, " Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening. "**

** "Capture the flag?" I asked. "But we don't have enough-"**

** "It is a tradition, " Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit. "**

** "Yeah, " Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly. "**

Zoe shot a glare once more at Thalia before ignoring her.

** Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many**** defense points all the gods had in his game. "Run along now, " Chiron told us. **

** "Oh, right, " Thalia said. "Come on, Percy. "**

** She hauled me out of the Big House before Dionysus could remember that he wanted to kill**** me. **

"Thank you Thalia." Annabeth said sighing in relief.

"Yes, thanks Thalia." Percy said in agreement.

"Well, someone had to try to keep you out of trouble since Annabeth wasn't there." She shrugged.

** "You've already got Ares on your bad side, " Thalia reminded me as we trudged toward the cabins. "You need another immortal enemy?"**

** She was right. My first summer as a camper, I'd gotten in a fight with Ares, and now he and**** all his children wanted to kill me. I didn't need to make Dionysus mad, too. **

** "Sorry, " I said. "I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair. "**

"Life is always unfair." Nico said quietly. Even though he hadn't meant for them to hear they did. They gave him worried looks but Percy read on reluctantly. He was determined to get Nico to talk to them about everything after this chapter. They needed to know what was going on with him.

**She stopped by the armory and looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood**** Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The**** tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for**** power. **

** "Percy, everything is unfair, " Thalia muttered. "Sometimes I wish... "**

** She didn't finish, but her tone was so sad I felt sorry for her. With her ragged black hair and her black punk clothes, an old wool overcoat wrapped around her, she looked like some**** kind of huge raven, completely out of place in the white landscape. **

Thalia raised an eyebrow at the comparison but stayed silent.

**"We'll get Annabeth back, " I promised. "I just don't know how yet. "**

** "First I found out that Luke is lost, " she said. "Now Annabeth-"**

Luke grimaced at that line.

** "Don't think like that. "**

** "You're right. " She straightened up. "We'll find a way. "**

** Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. The Ares kid had his hand on his sword and the Hunter girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow any**** second. **

"Probably was." Grover said, wincing at the thought.

**"I'll break that up, " Thalia said. "You circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about**** capture the flag tomorrow. "**

** "All right. You should be team captain. "**

** "No, no, " she said. "You've been at camp longer. You do it. "**

They all wondered how this would end.

** "We can, uh... Co-captain or something. "**

** She looked about as comfortable with that as I felt, but she nodded. **

** As she headed for the court, I said, "Hey, Thalia. "**

** "Yeah?"**

** "I'm sorry about what happened at Westover. I should've waited for you guys. "**

**'"S okay, Percy. I probably would've done the same thing. " She shifted from foot to foot, like she was trying to decide whether or not to say more. "You know, you asked about my mom**** and I kinda snapped at you. It's just... I went back to find her after seven years, and I**** found out she died in Los Angeles. She, um... She was a heavy drinker, and apparently she was**** out driving late one night about two years ago, and... " Thalia blinked hard. **

They all send sad pitying looks towards the two siblings. Thalia just ignored them while Jason gave them a tense smile. Piper squeezed her boyfriends hand and he gave her a half-smile in return.

Luke looked at Thalia sadly. He had never known about what exactly had happened with Thalia and her mom to cause her to run away. He hadn't known that her mother was a drinker. He remembered his own mother and winced. Was she still in the same state? Was she still insane? What had become of her? Luke shook the thoughts away. _Don't think about it. Just listen to the book. _

** "I'm sorry. "**

** "Yeah, well. It's... It's not like we were ever close. I ran away when I was ten. Best two**** years of my life were when I was running around with Luke and Annabeth. But still-"**

The two mentioned smiled sadly at that. It was kind of bittersweet.

**"That's why you had trouble with the sun van. "**

** She gave me a wary look. "What do you mean?"**

"Yes, Percy what do you mean?" Leo said in utter confusion.

** "The way you stiffened up. You must've been thinking about your mom, not wanting to get**** behind the wheel. "**

** I was sorry I'd said anything. Thalia's expression was dangerously close to Zeus's, the one**** time I'd seen him get angry-like any minute, her eyes would shoot a million volts. **

Thalia smiled and shook her head at Percy's description.

** "Yeah, " she muttered. "Yeah, that must've been it. "**

"But that wasn't it was it?" Reyna said surprisingly gentle and empathetic.

Thalia shook her head side to side answering the question.

** She trudged off toward the court, where the Ares camper and the Hunter were trying to kill**** each other with a sword and a basketball. **

** The cabins were the weirdest collection of buildings you've ever seen. Zeus and Hera's big**** white-columned buildings, Cabins One and Two, stood in the middle, with five gods' cabins**** on the left and five goddesses' cabins on the right, so they all made a U around the**** central green and the barbecue hearth. **

** I made the rounds, telling everybody about capture the flag. I woke up some Ares kid from**** his midday nap and he yelled at me to go away. When I asked him where Clarisse was he said, "Went on a quest for Chiron. Top secret!"**

They sent questioning looks in the direction of the mentioned girl. She proceed to ignore them, concentrating on the book instead. The Son of Poseidon continued to read on oblivious to their actions.

** "Is she okay?"**

The daughter of Ares felt touched that Percy seemed worried about her. That he considered her one of his friends. Of course she'd never let him know that though.

** "Haven't heard from her in a month. She's miss****ing in action. Like your butt's gonna be if ****you don't get outta here!"**

"Must've been Sherman." Clarisse muttered. When she got blank looks from most of them she continued. "One of my half-brothers in the Ares cabin."

They all nodded and continued on with the reading.

**I decided to let him go back to sleep.**

"Good choice." Clarisse told him.

** Finally I got to Cabin Three, the cabin of Poseidon. It was a low gray building hewn from**** sea stone, with shells and coral fossils imprinted in the rock. Inside, it was just as**** empty as always, except for my bunk. A Minotaur horn hung on the wall next to my pillow. **

**I took Annabeth's baseball cap out of my backpack and set it on my nightstand. I'd give it**** to her when I found her. And I would find her. **

The daughter of Athena smiled at the gesture.

**I took off my wristwatch and activated the shield. It creaked noisily as it spiraled out. **

** Dr. Thorn's spikes had dented the brass in a dozen places. One gash kept the shield from opening all the way, so it looked like a pizza with two slices missing. The beautiful metal**** pictures that my brother had crafted were all banged up. In the picture of me and Annabeth**** fighting the Hydra, it looked like a meteor had made a crater in my head. I hung the shield**** on its hook, next to the Minotaur horn, but it was painful to look at now. Maybe Beckendorf**** from the Hephaestus cabin could fix it for me. He was the best armorsmith in the camp. I'd**** ask him at dinner. **

Leo looked up briefly from his drawing at the mention of his older Half-Brother that he had never met.

** I was staring at the shield when I noticed a strange sound-water gurgling-and I realized there was something new in the room. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream**** of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and**** summery, fresh with the smell of the sea. **

**I stepped up to the pool. There was no note attached or anything, but I knew it could only**** be a gift from Poseidon. **

Percy smiled at the mention of the gift before reading on.

** I looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad. "**

** The surface rippled. At the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered-a dozen or so golden**** drachma. I realized what the fountain was for. It was a reminder to keep in touch with my**** family. **

**I opened the nearest window, and the wintry sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then I**** fished a coin out of the hot water. **

** "Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow, " I said, "accept my offering. "**

** I tossed a coin into the mist and it disappeared. Then I realized I didn't know who to**** contact first. **

"Wow, good planning Percy." Leo commented with a hint of sarcasm.

"Why thank you Leo." He said cheerfully, acting as if he had been serious.

**My mom? That would've been the "good son" thing to do, but she wouldn't be worried about me yet. She was used to me disappearing for days or weeks at a time. **

** My father? It had been way too long, almost two years, since I'd actually talked to him. **

** But could you even send an Iris-message to a god? I'd never tried. Would it make them mad, like a sales call or something?**

"Yes, you can." Chiron told them. "It might annoy them or make them angry, but I do not believe your father would be."

Percy gave him a smile in response before Piper continued to read.

** I hesitated. Then I made up my mind. **

** "Show me Tyson, " I requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes. "**

** The mist shimmered, and the image of my half brother appeared. He was surrounded in fire, which would've been a problem if he weren't a Cyclops. He was bent over an anvil, hammering**** a red-hot sword blade. Sparks flew and flames swirled around his body. There was a marble-****framed window behind him, and it looked out onto dark blue water-the bottom of the ocean. **

** "Tyson!" I yelled.**

** He didn't hear me at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames. **

** "TYSON!"**

The Cyclops looked up from his project at the mention of his name. He went back to his project which was starting to take on a circular shape.

**He turned, and his one enormous eye widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin.**

**"Percy!"**

** He dropped the sword blade and ran at me, trying to give me a hug. The vision blurred and I**** instinctively lurched back. "Tyson, it's an Iris-message. I'm not really here. "**

** "Oh. " He came back into view, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I knew that. Yes. "**

"Tyson is just so precious!" Piper gushed.

The young Cyclops blushed in reply to the daughter of Aphrodite's statement.

** "How are you?" I asked. "How's the job?"**

** His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands. **

** "I made this!"**

** "That's really cool. "**

**"I wrote my name on it. Right there. "**

** "Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?"**

** Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war. "**

They demigods frowned at the reminder.

** "What do you mean?"**

** Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out the window, where it made a cloud of boiling**** bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. "Old sea spirits making**** trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys. "**

** I sort of knew what he was talking about. He meant the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. The fact that they were back now, with the Titan Lord Kronos and his allies gaining strength, was not good. **

"Nope." Leo said. He stopped to look at his handy work. It was a picture of all of the seven, Nico, Reyna, Thalia, and Coach Hedge. _Maybe I should add the others? Clarisse, Luke, Rachel, Will, Zoe, and Bianca. Maybe Tyson and Ella too..._

** "Is there anything I can do?" I asked. **

** Tyson shook his head sadly. "We are arming the mermaids. They need a thousand more swords**** by tomorrow. " He looked at his sword blade and sighed. "Old spirits are protecting the bad**** boat. "**

** "The Princess Andromeda?" I said. "Luke's boat?"**

Luke winced outwardly at the statement. His past actions still haunted him.

** "Yes. They make it hard to find. Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise he would smash**** it. "**

** "Smashing it would be good. "**

**Murmurs of agreement echoed through the room. **

** Tyson perked up, as if he'd just had another thought. "Annabeth! Is she there?"**

** "Oh, well... " My heart felt like a bowling ball. Tyson thought Annabeth was just about the ****coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter). **

Annabeth grinned at that line. "Thank you Tyson."

"You are welcome Annabeth."

** I didn't have the**** heart to tell him she was missing. He'd start crying so bad he'd probably put out his**** fires. "Well, no... She's not here right now. "**

** "Tell her hello!" He beamed. "Hello to Annabeth!"**

** "Okay. " I fought back a lump in my throat. "I'll do that. "**

** "And, Percy, don't worry about the bad boat. It is going away. "**

** "What do you mean?"**

** "Panama Canal! Very far away. "**

The all shot questioning looks towards Luke. He shifted uncomfortably, their attention made him nervous. He didn't like to think too much about his past. He stayed silent and Piper started to read once more.

**I frowned. Why would Luke take his demon-infested cruise ship all the way down there? The**** last time we'd seen him, he'd been cruising along the East Coast, recruiting half-bloods**** and training his monstrous army. **

** "All right, " I said, not feeling reassured. "That's... Good. I guess. "**

** In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something I couldn't make out. Tyson flinched. "Got to**** get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Brother!"**

**"Okay, tell Dad-"**

** But before I could finish, the vision shimmered and faded. I was alone again in my cabin, feeling even lonelier than before. **

** I was pretty miserable at dinner that night. **

They shot worried glances at their friend. He just smiled at them and shook off their concern.

**I mean, the food was excellent as usual. You can't go wrong with barbecue, pizza, and**** never-empty soda goblets. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm, but we**** all had to sit with our cabin mates, which meant I was alone at the Poseidon table. Thalia**** sat alone at the Zeus table, but we couldn't sit together. Camp rules. **

**At least the**** Hephaestus, Ares, and Hermes cabins had a few people each. Nico sat with the Stoll**** brothers, since new campers always got stuck in the Hermes cabin if their Olympian parent**** was unknown. The Stoll brothers seemed to be trying to convince Nico that poker was a much**  
**better game than Mythomagic. I hoped Nico didn't have any money to lose. **

"I didn't." He said shortly.

"Well, that's good then." Leo commented.

"Yep."

**The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The**** Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoe sat at the head like she**** was the mama. ****She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. **

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "That would be Artemis, boy. She's the mother of our group."

** Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair. I thought she looked**** a lot nicer when she smiled. Bianca di Angelo seemed to be having a great time. She was**** trying to learn how to arm wrestle from the big girl who'd picked a fight with the Ares kid**** on the basketball court. The bigger girl was beating her every time, but Bianca didn't seem**** to mind. **

**When we'd finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally**** welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty halfhearted. Then he announced the**** "good will" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception. **

** Afterward, we all trailed back to our cabins for an early, winter lights out. I was**** exhausted, which meant I fell asleep easily. That was the good part. The bad part was, I**** had a nightmare, and even by my standards it was a whopper. **

They all looked worried at that line. They leaned forward listening intently to Piper as she read.

**Annabeth was on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog. It almost seemed like the Underworld, because I immediately felt claustrophobic and I couldn't see the sky above-just a close, heavy darkness, as if I were in a cave.**

**Annabeth struggled up the hill. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered**** around, as though something had blasted a huge building to rums. **

** "Thorn!" Annabeth cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" She scrambled over a**** section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill. **

They wondered the exact same thing as Annabeth. Where did he bring her and why?

** She gasped.**

**There was Luke. And he was in pain. **

** He was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker**** around him, fog swirling hungrily. His clothes were in tatters and his face was scratched**** and drenched with sweat, "Annabeth!" he called. "Help me! Please!"**

**She ran forward.**

**I tried to cry out: He's a traitor! Don't trust him!**

Luke flinched in response. He avoided looking at any of the others present.

** But my voice didn't work in the dream.**

**Annabeth had tears in her eyes. ****She reached down like she wanted to touch Luke's face, but at the last second she hesitated. **

** "What happened?" she asked. **

They all sat listening. The only sound they could hear was Tyson tinkering making his project.

** "They left me here, " Luke groaned. "Please. It's killing me. "**

** I couldn't see what was wrong with him. He seemed to be struggling against some invisible**** curse, as though the fog were squeezing him to death. **

** "Why should I trust you?" Annabeth asked. Her voice was filled with hurt. **

They all thought the exact same thing.

**"You shouldn't, " Luke said. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll**** die. "**

** Let him die, I wanted to scream. Luke had tried to kill us in cold blood too many times. He**** didn't deserve anything from Annabeth. **

"He's right." Luke said. "You should have left me to die."

They gaped at the son of Hermes in shock.

"Don't say that Luke." Annabeth protested.

"Why not? It's true." He argued. "If you had just let me die it would have saved everyone else a whole lot of trouble. Many people would still be alive then that died. Silena, Lee Fletcher , Castor, Michael Yew, Beckendorf."

Annabeth flinched at the reminder, feeling really guilty all of a sudden. "It's not your fault Annabeth." Percy told her firmly. He shot a glare in Luke's direction and pulled Annabeth into his embrace.

"Of course it's not." Luke said. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Just shut up Luke." Thalia shot back. "Before you dig yourself into an even deeper hole." The son of Hermes fell silent and Piper continued to read.

** Then the darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge**** chunks of black rock began falling. Annabeth rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the**** whole ceiling dropped. She held it somehow-tons of rock. She kept it from collapsing on her**** and Luke just with her own strength. It was impossible. She shouldn't have been able to do**** that. **

**Luke rolled free, gasping. "Thanks, " he managed.**

**"Help me hold it, " Annabeth groaned. **

** Luke caught his breath. His face was covered in grime and sweat. He rose unsteadily. **

** "I knew I could count on you. " He began to walk away as the trembling blackness threatened**** to crush Annabeth. **

They all glared at the son of Hermes. Piper continued to read fighting to keep her voice steady.

** "HELP ME!" she pleaded, ****"Oh, don't worry, " Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the**** meantime, try not to die. "**

**The ceiling of darkness began to crumble again, pushing Annabeth against the ground.**

** I sat bolt upright in bed, clawing at the sheets. There was no sound in my cabin except the gurgle of the saltwater spring. The clock on my nightstand read just after midnight. **

** Only a dream, but I was sure of two things: Annabeth was in terrible danger. And Luke was ****responsible. **

"Finished," Piper told them. She turned on Luke. "How could you do that to her?!" She demanded.

"I-" He began only to be cut off by the daughter of Aphrodite.

"Do you even have a heart?" She yelled furiously, "Oh no, of course not. You're heartless! Only someone without a shred of human decency would do that to a person!"

"Piper, that's enough." Annabeth said trying to calm down the livid charm speaker. "It's in the past, so let's just let it go, okay?"

Piper took deep breaths trying to calm herself. "Alright, Here Reyna." She handed the book to the daughter of Bellona.

She took the book and flipped to the next page and began to read the next chapter.

* * *

Author's notes: I hope you enjoy reading this. I hope it meets your expectations and was worth the long wait. I planned to have it finished two days ago but we were busy getting ready for my younger cousin's birthday party, which was yesterday. So I didn't have much time to write down anything.


	6. Chapter 6

Integrity

Chapter 6

Reyna Reads again

Author's notes: Sorry for the long wait. I hope that it's meets everyone's approval. As I've said before I don't own Percy Jackson &amp; the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Rick Riordan does, including everything in Bold which is the book text.

* * *

The daughter of Bellona cleared her throat and began to read the next chapter.

**Chapter 6: An Old Dead Friend Comes To Visit**

"What?" Leo replied bewildered.

"It'll be explained in the book, Leo." Annabeth sighed.

Reyna continued on.

**The morning after breakfast, I told Grover about my dream. We sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. **

"Not surprising." Luke commented. He ignored the glares from the new demigods, as well as Zoe and Bianca.

Nico gave the son of Hermes a empathetic look. He had a feeling that he would be getting the same reactions. At least once they found out what he did to Percy in the the past.

**Usually the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.**

**When I told Grover my nightmare, he started twirling his finger in his shaggy leg fur. **

There were a few raised eyebrows at this sentence.

**"A cave ceiling collapsed on her?" he asked. **

**"Yeah. What the heck does that mean?"**

**Grover shook his head. "I don't know. But after what Zoe dreamed-"**

Zoe looked over at the satyr, her eyes narrowing. "How did thee know I had a dream about that as well?"

Grover blushed and looked away.

Reyna then cleared her throat and continued to read.

**"Whoa. What do you mean? Zoe had a dream like that?"**

**"I... I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked. "**

"And you know this how?" Annabeth asked curiously.

**"Wait, how do you know this?"**

**Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin. "**

Chiron raised his eyebrows at the sentence.

"Creeper!" Leo yelled.

The three huntresses glared at the satyr who was still looking at his hoofs.

**"What for?"**

**"Just to be, you know, near them. "**

**"You're a stalker with hooves. "**

They all laughed at Percy's statement. Chiron chuckled in response.

"Exactly my thoughts Percy!" Leo grinned.

**"I am not! **

"Are too!" Leo shot back.

They rolled their eyes and smiled at Leo's antics.

**Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the wholething. She got real upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene."**

**I tried to imagine that. **

They all paused trying to imagine how a fight between the two would go down.

**Argus was the head of security for camp-a big blond dude with eyes all over his body. He rarely showed himself unless something serious was going on. I wouldn't want to place bets on a fight between him and Zoe Nightshade. **

"So who do you think would win that fight?" Leo had a mischevious look on his face.

"We'll get back to you on that Leo." Piper told him. "Later when we have a break again."

**"What did she say?" I asked. **

**Grover grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout... I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her-"**

**"Whoa, wait. How could Artemis be in trouble?"**

The huntresses from the past listened intently as the daughter of Bellona read.

**"I... Well, finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tail in curlers and-"**

**"He wears curlers in his tail?"**

The other demigods had the same thoughts.

They glanced at Chiron who pretended that he hadn't heard the last line.

**Grover covered his mouth. **

**"Sorry, " I said. "Go on. "**

**"Well, Zoe said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoe that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said... " Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"**

"She does have a point," Piper admitted.

"Thank you." Zoe replied.

**"What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?"**

They demigods all face palmed while Chiron, Grover and Coach Hedge just sighed and shook their heads.

"Honestly Percy." Thalia rolled her eyes.

"What?" The son of Poseidon said innocently.

**"No. I think she meant gone. Taken. Kidnapped. "**

**"Kidnapped?" I tried to get my mind around that idea. "How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?"**

"Yes, it is." Nico mumbled absent mindedly. His Stepmother, Persephone, came to his mind.

Will glanced over at the son of Hades when he spoke.

**"Well, yeah. I mean, it happened to Persephone. "**

**"But she was like, the goddess of flowers. "**

**Grover looked offended. "Springtime. "**

Nico closed his mouth as he had been about to correct Percy.

**"Whatever. Artemis is a lot more powerful than that. Who could kidnap her? And why?"**

**Grover shook his head miserably. "I don't know. Kronos?"**

**"He can't be that powerful already. Can he?"**

They all exchanged worried looks at the last few lines.

**The last time we'd seen Kronos, he'd been in tiny pieces. Well... We hadn't actually seen him. Thousands of years ago, after the big Titan-God war, the gods had sliced him to bits with his own scythe and scattered his remains in Tartarus, which is like the gods' bottomless recycling bin for their enemies. **

They all laughed at Percy's thoughts and shook their heads.

**Two summers ago, Kronos had tricked us to the very edge of the pit and almost pulled us in. Then last summer, on board Luke's demon cruise ship, we'd seen a golden coffin, where Luke claimed he was summoning the Titan Lord out of the abyss, bit by bit, every time someone new joined their cause. Kronos could influence people with dreams and trick them, but I didn't see how he could physically overcome Artemis if he was still like a pile of evil bark mulch. **

They snorted once again in laughter.

**"I don't know, " Grover said. "I think somebody would know if Kronos had re-formed. The gods would be more nervous. But still, it's weird, you having a nightmare the same night as Zoe. It's almost like-"**

**"They're connected, " I said. **

Everyone on the ship looked somewhat concerned at the last sentence.

"That can't be good." Reyna frowned.

"Definitly not." Clarisse grumbled in agreement.

**Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a redheaded tree nymph. She giggled and held out her arms as he ran toward her. Pop! She turned into Scotch pine and he kissed the trunk at top speed, "Ah, love, " Grover said dreamily. **

They smiled and shook their heads at Grover's actions.

**I thought about Zoe's nightmare, which she'd had only a few hours after mine. **

**"I've got to talk to Zoe, " I said. **

**"Um, before you do... " Grover took something out of his coat pocket. It was a three-fold display like a travel brochure. "You remember what you said-about how it was weird the Hunters just happened to show up at Westover Hall? I think they might've been scouting us. "**

"Scouting?" Hazel frowned, looking confused.

"It means that we were looking for some more candidates to join the Hunters of Artemis." Zoe explained patiently.

**"Scouting us? What do you mean?"**

**He gave me the brochure. It was about the Hunters of Artemis. The front read, A WISE CHOICE FOR YOUR FUTURE! Inside were pictures of young maidens doing hunter stuff, chasing monsters, shooting bows. There were captions like: HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! and A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!**

**"I found that in Annabeth's backpack, " Grover said. **

The rest of the demigods, Zoe, Chiron, and Coach Hedge looked at Annabeth in surprise.

"You were thinking of joining them?!" Thalia looked shocked.

"I was considering it." Annabeth admitted.

"What's with the dramatics Thalia?" Leo said. "You actually did join the Hunters of Artemis."

"Yeah, well," The daughter of Zeus said. "That's different."

"How so?" Frank said curiously.

"It doesn't matter." Nico interupted, "Let's just continue reading, so we can get back to saving the world...again."

Reyna continued on with the reading.

**I stared at him. "I don't understand. "**

**"Well, it seems to me... Maybe Annabeth was thinking about joining. "**

**I'd like to say I took the news well. **

**The truth was, I wanted to strangle the Hunters of Artemis one eternal maiden at a time. **

Zoe glared at Percy. "I'd like to see you try boy!" The huntress clutched her bow in her hand. Bianca looked surprised at the last sentence and the other demigods, along with Chiron and the two satyrs raised eyebrows in response.

**The rest of the day I tried to keep busy, but I was worried sick about Annabeth. **

The mentioned girl smiled at that line.

**I went to javelin-throwing class, but the Ares camper in charge chewed me out after I got distracted and threw the javelin at the target before he got out of the way. I apologized for the hole in his pants, but he still sent me packing. **

"Wow, you must have been very distracted." Frank observed.

"Yeah, I just couldn't stop thinking about Annabeth." Percy replied sending a smile towards daughter of Athena; which she returned and squeezed his hand.

**I visited the pegasus stables, but Silena Beauregard from the Aphrodite cabin was having an argument with one of the Hunters, and I decided I'd better not get involved. **

"Good idea." Will told him. He remembered exactly what happened when the Hunters came to camp that time. The Aphrodite kids and the hunters went head to head. The Huntresses had been going on about how love was worthless and the Aphrodite kids got really angry, really fast.

**After that, I sat in the empty chariot stands and sulked. Down at the archery fields, Chiron was conducting target practice. I knew he'd be the best person to talk to. Maybe he could give me some advice, but something held me back. I had a feeling Chiron would try to protect me, like he always did. He might not tell me everything he knew. **

Chiron sighed at the last paragraph.

"Would you have?" Percy asked him.

"Most likely, yes." The Centaur admitted.

**I looked the other direction. At the top of Half-Blood Hill, Mr. D and Argus were feeding the baby dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece. **

**Then it occurred to me: no one would be in the Big House. There was someone else... Something else I could ask for guidance. **

"Whoa, whoa wait." Rachel interupted. "Something else? You're talking about the Mummified oracle aren't you?"

The others looked over at Percy for an answer. "Yes, I am."

Reyna continued to read the chapter outloud.

**My blood was humming in my ears as I ran into the house and took the stairs. I'd only done this once before, and I still had nightmares about it. I opened the trap door and stepped into the attic. **

**The room was dark and dusty and cluttered with junk, just like I remembered. There were shields with monster bites out of them, and swords bent in the shapes of daemon heads, and a bunch of taxidermy, like a stuffed harpy and a bright orange python. **

"Well that's um... interesting." Hazel offered.

"Yeah, lets go with that." Piper agreed.

**Over by the window, sitting on a three-legged stool, was the shriveled-up mummy of an old lady in a tie-dyed hippie dress. The Oracle. **

**I made myself walk toward her. I waited for green mist to billow from the mummy's mouth, like it had before, but nothing happened. **

"That's because it wasn't supposed to be your quest Percy." Grover commented.

"Yeah, I know." He said. "But I had to try to help save Annabeth."

Chiron smiled at Percy's response.

"Aw! That's so sweet!" Piper beamed.

"I know, right?" Leo added with a grin.

Reyna shook her head and continued on.

**"Hi, " I said. "Uh, what's up?"**

**I winced at how stupid that sounded. Not much could be "up" when you're dead and stuck in the attic. **

"True." Nico commented dryly.

**But I knew the spirit of the Oracle was in there somewhere. I could feel a cold presence in the room, like a coiled sleeping snake. **

Hazel shivered at the last line, leaning into Frank, who sat next to her.

**"I have a question, " I said a little louder. "I need to know about Annabeth. How can I save her?"**

**No answer. The sun slanted through the dirty attic window, lighting the dust motes dancing in the air. **

**I waited longer. **

**Then I got angry. I was being stonewalled by a corpse. **

"Bad luck man." Will said sympathetically.

Percy shrugged in response. "Doesn't matter I still got to go to save Annabeth anyways."

"Only because you snuck out of camp." Nico responded.

**"All right, " I said. "Fine. I'll figure it out myself. "**

**I turned and bumped into a big table full of souvenirs. It seemed more cluttered than the last time I was here. Heroes stored all kinds of stuff in the attic: quest trophies they no longer wanted to keep in their cabins, or stuff that held painful memories. I knew Luke had stored a dragon claw somewhere up here-the one that had scarred his face. **

Luke winced at the reminder, and touched his scar self-consciously.

The other glanced over at him and the son of Hermes ducked his head to avoid their gazes. Reyna decided to read on.

**There was a broken sword hilt labeled: This broke and Leroy got killed. 1999. Then I noticed a pink silk scarf with a label attached to it. I picked up the tag and tried to read it:**

**SCARF OF THE GODDESS APHRODITE**

**RECOVERED AT WATERLAND, DENVER, CO. , BY ANNABETH CHASE AND PERCY JACKSON**

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover smiled lightly at the memories of that quest.

**I stared at the scarf. I'd totally forgotten about it. Two years ago, Annabeth had ripped this scarf out of my hands and said something like, Oh, no. No love magic for you!**

Percy grinned at the reminder.

**I'd just assumed she'd thrown it away. And yet here it was. She'd kept it all this time?**

**And why had she stashed it in the attic?**

**I turned to the mummy. She hadn't moved, but the shadows across her face made it look like she was smiling gruesomely. **

"Okay, that's creepy." Bianca said rubbing her arms.

**I dropped the scarf and tried not to run toward the exit. **

**That night after dinner, I was seriously ready to beat the Hunters at capture the flag. It was going to be a small game: only thirteen Hunters, including Bianca di Angelo, and about the same number of campers. **

**Zoe Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. I guess Zoe had told them about her nightmare. **

"I did." The huntress confirmed Percy's thoughts.

**On our team, we had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin (though it still seemed strange that Clarisse wasn't around), the Stoll brothers and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. It was weird that the Aphrodite cabin wanted to play. Usually they sat on the sidelines, chatted, and checked their reflections in the river and stuff, but when they heard we were fighting the Hunters, they were raring to go. **

Piper shook her head once more at her siblings previous actions.

**"I'll show them 'love is worthless, '" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"**

Zoe snorted at that line in disbelief as if to say, 'Yeah, right.'

**That left Thalia and me. **

**"I'll take the offense, " Thalia volunteered. "You take defense."**

**"Oh. " I hesitated, because I'd been about to say the exact same thing, only reversed. "Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?"**

The demigods glanced at each other wondering how this would end.

**Thalia already had Aegis on her arm, and even our own teammates were giving her a wide berth, trying not to cower before the bronze head of Medusa. **

**"Well, I was thinking it would make better offense, " Thalia said. "Besides, you've had more practice at defense. "**

**I wasn't sure if she was teasing me. **

"I wasn't." Thalia said.

**I'd had some pretty bad experiences with defense on capture the flag. My first year, Annabeth had put me out as a kind of bait, and I'd almost been gored to death with spears and killed by a hellhound. **

Annabeth winced at the memory. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, Annabeth." Percy assured her.

**"Yeah, no problem, " I lied. **

"You should have just talked to me about it," Thalia frowned, "Instead of pretending to be alright with it."

"You might have killed me or something." Percy replied.

"What?! No, I wouldn't have." She denied.

"We weren't exactly friends then Thalia. You kind of hated me at that point in time."

"I guess you do have a point there."

Reyna went on with the chapter.

**"Cool. " Thalia turned to help some of the Aphrodite kids, who were having trouble suiting up their armor without breaking their nails. Nico di Angelo ran up to me with a big grin on his face. **

**"Percy, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. I wondered if there was any way I'd looked that ridiculous when I'd first arrived. Unfortunately, I probably had. **

"Thanks Percy." Nico commented sarcastically.

Will couldn't help but grin at the mention of young Nico and at his actions.

**Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"**

**"Well... No. "**

**"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"**

"Yes, but not if we fall in battle." Bianca corrected her younger brother.

"Yeah, I know that now." Nico said tersely.

She couldn't help but feel there was an underlying meaning in his statement.

**"That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides-"**

**"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and-"**

**"Nico, this is serious. Real swords. These can hurt. "**

Chiron nodded at Percy with approval.

**He stared at me, a little disappointed, and I realized that I'd just sounded like my mother. Whoa. Not a good sign. **

"Actually, I disagree." Chiron told him. "It shows that you're maturing."

"Percy maturing?" Thalia said shocked. "An apocalypse must be coming!"

"Actually there is." Jason replied. "You know, we're trying to stop Gaia from killing everyone and everything."

Thalia stuck her tounge out at her younger brother who returned the gesture.

**I patted Nico on the shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. Just follow the team. Stay out of Zoe's way. We'll have a blast. "**

**Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor. **

**"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team-Camp Half-Blood-shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis-red team-shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"**

The demigods all leaned forward in anticipation for what was to come.

**"Sweet, " Nico whispered next to me. "What kind of magic items? Do I get one?"**

**I was about to break it to him that he didn't, when Thalia said, "Blue team! Follow me!"**

**They cheered and followed. I had to run to catch up, and tripped over somebody's shield, so I didn't look much like a co-captain. More like an idiot. **

"Good job, Percy!" Leo commented cheerfully.

Percy shot a mock glare at the tinkerer who just grinned in response.

**We set our flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It's this cluster of boulders in the middle of**  
**the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking**  
**out of the ground. If you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron wouldn't let us call the place the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much of a sense of humor. **

The demigods all laughed at that. "I know that I should probably be offended by that since it's my father." Jason began.

"But you're right and it's so hilarious." Thalia finished. The two siblings cracked up once again. The daughter of Bellona gave them time to calm down before moving on.

**Anyway, it was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and**  
**really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it. **

**I set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers, figuring he'd be safely out of the way. **

Bianca shot him a grateful look while Nico huffed in annoyance.

**"We'll send out a decoy to the left, " Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that. "**

**"Got it!"**

**"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise. "**

"Jason, I didn't know you were at camp Half-Blood before Hera did her whole swirtcheroo." Leo said. The others rolled their eyes.

"She meant Jason Abernathy from the Ares cabin." Annabeth pointed out.

"I don't remember seeing him at camp." Piper said confused.

"He died in the second Titan War." Clarisse replied gruffly.

"Oh," Leo said. Everyone fell silent for a few moments before the female praetor read on.

**Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work. **

**Thalia looked at me. "Anything to add, Percy?"**

**"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got four guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help. "**

**"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said. **

**"Unless you see a golden opportunity, " I added. **

**Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post. "**

"Oh no," Annabeth groaned, "This isn't going to end well."

"Nope," Percy told them.

"Do I even want to know what happens next?"

"Not really, no, but you'll find out soon anyways."

**"Right, unless-"**

**"Percy!" She touched my arm and shocked me. I mean, everybody can give static shocks in the winter, but when Thalia does, it hurts. I guess it's because her dad is the god of lightning. She's been known to fry off people's eyebrows. **

**"Sorry, " Thalia said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "Now, is everybody clear?"**

"Sorry about that." Thalia said sincerley this time.

"No problem. It's in the past now." Percy said good naturedly.

**Everybody nodded. We broke into our smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began. **

**Silena's group disappeared into the woods on the left. Thalia's group gave it a few**  
**seconds, then darted off toward the right. **

**I waited for something to happen. I climbed Zeus's Fist and had a good view over the forest. I remembered how the Hunters had stormed out of the woods when they fought the manticore, and I was prepared for something like that-one huge charge that could overwhelm us. But nothing happened. **

"How very boring." Leo commented letting out a fake yawn in the process.

**I caught a glimpse of Silena and her two scouts. They ran through a clearing, followed by five of the Hunters, leading them deep into the woods and away from Thalia. The plan seemed to be working. Then I spotted another clump of Hunters heading to the right, bows ready. **

**They must've spotted Thalia. **

**"What's happening?" Nico demanded, trying to climb up next to me. **

**My mind was racing. Thalia would never get through, **

"Great to know that you have so much faith in me Percy." Thalia snorted.

"Sorry." He replied sheepishly.

**but the Hunters were divided. With that many on either flank, their center had to be wide open. If I moved fast..**

**I looked at Beckendorf. "Can you guys hold the fort?"**

**Beckendorf snorted. "Of course. "**

"Yeah, Percy of course they can." Leo added in. "Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?" The mechanic went back to working on his drawing which now included Tyson and Ella.

**"I'm going in."**

**The Stoll brothers and Nico cheered as I raced toward the boundary line. **

**I was running at top speed and I felt great. I leaped over the creek into enemy territory. **

They all listened intently as Reyna continued to read.

**I could see their silver flag up ahead, only one guard, who wasn't even looking in my direction. I heard fighting to my left and right, somewhere in the woods. I had it made. **

**The guard turned at the last minute. It was Bianca di Angelo. Her eyes widened as I slammed into her and she went sprawling in the snow. **

Nico didn't even react to the revelation.

**I was ten yards away before Bianca managed to yell for help. I thought I was home free. **

**ZIP. A silvery cord raced across my ankles and fastened to the tree next to me. A trip wire, fired from a bow! Before I could even think about stopping, I went down hard, sprawling in the snow. **

"Bad luck dude." Will shook his head sympathetically.

**"Percy!" Thalia yelled, off to my left. "What are you doing?"**

**Before she reached me, an arrow exploded at her feet and a cloud of yellow smoke billowed around her team. They started coughing and gagging. I could smell the gas from across the woods-the horrible smell of sulfur. **

**"No fair!" Thalia gasped. "Fart arrows are unsportsmanlike!"**

They all laughed at Thalia's comment.

**I got up and started running again. Only a few more yards to the creek and I had the game. **

**More arrows whizzed past my ears. A Hunter came out of nowhere and slashed at me with her knife, but I parried and kept running. **

**I heard yelling from our side of the creek. Beckendorf and Nico were running toward me. I thought they were coming to welcome me back, but then I saw they were chasing someone-Zoe Nightshade, racing toward me like a cheetah, dodging campers with no trouble. And she had our flag in her hands. **

**"No!" I yelled, and poured on the speed. **

**I was two feet from the water when Zoe bolted across to her own side, slamming into me for**** good measure. The Hunters cheered as both sides converged on the creek. Chiron appeared out ****of the woods, looking grim. He had the Stoll brothers on his back, and it looked as if both ****of them had taken some nasty whacks to the head. Connor Stoll had two arrows sticking out**** of his helmet like antennae. **

** "The Hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. Then he muttered, "For the fifty-****sixth time in a row. "**

"Well, there's always next time." Hazel commented optimistically.

"Yeah, you never know." Frank said, "Next time you might get lucky."

"Hmm... maybe." Percy said after a moment.

** "Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming toward me. She smelled like rotten eggs, and she was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. It took all my willpower not to cower.**

**I balled my fists. I'd had enough bad stuff happen to me for one day. I didn't need this.**

"This isn't going to end well." Jason grimaced. The others looked equally worried about the confrontation between the Son of Poseidon and the daughter of Zeus.

**"I got the flag, Thalia!" I shook it in her face. "I saw a chance and I took it!"**

**"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won. "**

**"You had too many on you!"**

**"Oh, so it's my fault?"**

**"I didn't say that. "**

The other demigods cringed and looked like they were expecting the world to end at that point. This fight between the two of them could only end badly.

**"Argh!" Thalia pushed me, and a shock went through my body that blew me backward ten feet into the water.**

"Well, at least you landed in the water." Annabeth pointed out. "The water heals you."

"Yeah," Pery nodded in agreement.

**Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs.**

**"Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to-"**

**Anger roared in my ears. A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe.**

"And you got revenge too." Leo added. The fire-user then flinched remembering Nemesis and the encounter with you.

The others noticed his reaction and shot him concerned looks. "Are you okay Leo?" Piper asked tentatively.

"Yeah..." He offered weakly. When the others shot him disbelieving looks he sighed. "Just revenge made me think of Nemesis which made me remember Hazel's and my encounter with her." Leo admitted.

"That stuff Nemesis said wasn't true, Leo." Percy told him. "You do have a place with us. Heck, we wouldn't even be on this quest without you."

"You built the Argo II and saved us multiple times on our first quest together." Jason added.

"And you rebuilt Festus so that we could go on our quest to save Hera in the first place." Piper continued.

"You saved mine and Hazel's lives in Rome, remember?" Frank reminded the latino boy.

"That was only because I opened the fortune cookie Nemesis gave me." Leo argued. "And then Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus."

"Whoah, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute." Percy spoke up. "You can't honestly believe that Annabeth and I falling into Tartarus was your fault."

Leo looked away avoiding their gazes. They all knew the unspoken answer there.

"That's ridiculous Leo!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Well, I opened the Fortune cookie."

"If you hadn't done that then Frank and I would be dead right now Leo." Hazel told him, "And Gaea would have already risen."

"Let's just keep reading this okay?" Leo interrupted their arguments.

"This isn't over Valdez." Piper said sternly. The daughter of Aphrodite then turned to Reyna and gestured for her to continue.

**I stood up. "Yeah, " I growled. "I didn't mean to, either. "**

**Thalia was breathing heavily.**

**"Enough!" Chiron ordered.**

**But Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?"**

**Somehow, it was okay when Annabeth called me that**

"Because you like her!" Leo said in a sing-song voice.

Percy splashed him with some water in retaliation.

The fire user spluttered in return and used his fire powers to dry himself without burning his clothes. He was wearing the ones that Calypso had made for him before he left her Island.

Percy just whistled innocently in reply before shooting the son of Hephaestus a grin.

**-at least, I'd gotten used to it-but hearing it from Thalia was not cool.**

**"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!"**

**I raised Riptide, but before I could even defend myself, Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into my chest.**

"What the hell were the two of you thinking?!" Annabeth demanded. "You could have killed each other!"

They both mumbled apologies and Reyna continued to read the chapter.

**I sat down hard. There was a burning smell; I had a feeling it was my clothes.**

**"Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is enough!"**

**I got to my feet and willed the entire creek to rise. It swirled up, hundreds of gallons of water in a massive icy funnel cloud.**

**"Percy!" Chiron pleaded.**

**I was about to hurl it at Thalia when I saw something in the woods. I lost my anger and my concentration all at once. The water splashed back into the creekbed. Thalia was so surprised she turned to see what I was looking at.**

The demigods glanced at each other, wondering what it could be.

**Someone... Something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.**

**"This is impossible, " Chiron said. I'd never heard him sound so nervous. "It... She has never left the attic. Never. "**

**And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around our feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.**

They all looked nervous at that part, wondering if the mummy leaving the attic was a good thing or not.

**None of us dared move. Then her voice hissed inside my head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.**

**I am the sprit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.**

**The Oracle regarded me with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. Approach, Seeker, and ask.**

Was this when Zoe and Bianca were brought into the future? They wondered or just after the prophecy was spoken.  
**  
Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"**

**The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:**

**Five shall go west to the goddess in chains, One shall be lost in the land without rain, The bane of Olympus shows the trail, Campers and Hunters combined prevail, The Titan's curse must one withstand, And one shall perish by a parent's hand.**

**Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.**

"That's the end of this chapter." Reyna announced. She passed the book to the daughter of Zeus, who cleared her throat and began to read the next chapter.

* * *

Author's notes: As you can probably tell from this chapter I am continuing this on Fanfiction. No one has actually told me that it's against the Rules, So until I have someone tell me that it is. I might as well continue it.


	7. Chapter 7

Integrity

Chapter 7

Thalia's Thoughts

Author's notes: I still don't own Percy Jackson &amp; the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus, or The Kane Chronicles as I am not Rick Riordan. If I was I would currently be writing The first Magnus Chase &amp; the Gods of Asgard book right now instead of writing fanfiction.

* * *

Thalia turned the page and continued on immediately, not wanting to waste any time.

**Chapter 7: Everybody Hates Me But The Horse**

The Chapters' title got some raised eyebrows in response as Thalia returned to reading.

**The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself. **

**Instead, Grover and I were elected to carry her. I didn't figure that was because we were the most popular. **

"Probably not." Jason agreed.

**"Watch her head!" Grover warned as we went up the stairs. But it was too late. **

**Bonk! I whacked her mummified face against the trapdoor frame and dust flew. **

They all winced in reply.

**"Ah, man. " I set her down and checked for damage. "Did I break anything?"**

**"I can't tell, " Grover admitted. **

**We hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, both of us huffing and sweating. Who knew a mummy could weigh so much?**

Leo opened his mouth to say something.

Thalia cut him off by continuing to read.

**I assumed she wouldn't talk to me, and I was right. I was relieved when we finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut. **

**"Well, " Grover said, "that was gross. "**

**I knew he was trying to keep things light for my sake, but I still felt really down. The whole camp would be mad at me for losing the game to the Hunters, **

"They'll get over it." Piper told him.

Percy gave her a friendly smile in return.

**and then there was the new prophecy from the Oracle. It was like the spirit of Delphi had gone out of her way to exclude me. She'd ignored my question and walked half a mile to talk to Zoe. And she'd said nothing, not even a hint, about Annabeth. **

**"What will Chiron do?" I asked Grover. **

**"I wish I knew. " He looked wistfully out the second-floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there. "**

"Searching for Annabeth or Pan?" Hazel asked.

"Both," The Satyr responded.

**"Searching for Annabeth?"**

**He had a little trouble focusing on me. Then he blushed. "Oh, right. That too. Of course. "**

**"Why?" I asked. "What were you thinking?"**

"Of finding Pan." Zoe commented.

"Who's Pan?" Bianca frowned in confusion.

"It's about to be explained in the book." Thalia told them before she continued to read.

**He clopped his hooves uneasily. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder... If all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe... Maybe not all of them are evil. "**

**"You mean Pan. "**

**I felt kind of selfish, because I'd totally forgotten about Grover's life ambition. The nature god had gone missing two thousand years ago. He was rumored to have died, but the satyrs didn't believe that. They were determined to find him. They'd been searching in vain for centuries, and Grover was convinced he'd be the one to succeed. This year, with Chiron putting all the satyrs on emergency duty to find half-bloods, Grover hadn't been able to continue his search. It must've been driving him nuts. **

**"I've let the trail go cold, " he said. "I feel restless, like I'm missing something really important. He's out there somewhere. I can just feel it. "**

"And you were right." Annabeth smiled at the satyr who returned the gesture.

"Where did you find Pan?" Jason asked.

Grover sighed, "Look you'll find out in the book."

The others frowned in confusion except for for the ones who were there.

**I didn't know what to say. I wanted to encourage him, but I didn't know how. My optimism had pretty much been trampled into the snow out there in the woods, along with our capture-the-flag hopes. **

**Before I could respond, Thalia tromped up the stairs. She was officially not talking to me now, but she looked at Grover and said, "Tell Percy to get his butt downstairs. "**

Annabeth sighed in frustration at the way the two of them had acted. "Honestly you two."

Thalia contined reading the chapter.

**"Why?" I asked. **

**"Did he say something?" Thalia asked Grover. **

**"Um, he asked why. "**

**"Dionysus is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy, " she said. "Unfortunately, that includes Percy. "**

"You guys are acting ridiculous." Will shook his head.

"Of course they are." Nico replied. "They both have tempers."

"You mean just like you?" Percy told him.

The son of Hades proceded to ignore the son of Poseidon. A hurt look overcame Percy's face before he returned to listening to Thalia read.

**The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. **

**Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either. **

"I don't blame them. It's disgusting." Leo made a face at the thought.

**Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Bianca di Angelo (who had kind of become Zoe's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia and Grover and I sat along the right, and the other head councilors-Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers-sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) **

"Yeah sure." Leo rolled his eyes and made airquotes with his fingers. "'Accidentally.'"

**during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary. **

**Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless. "**

"Yep, very positive note." Frank commented sarcastically.

Leo pretended to wipe away tears at Franks display of sarcasm.

The son of Mars rolled his eyes and Leo pretended to start fake sobbing.

They ignored him and Thalia read on.

**"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping. **

**"There is no time for talk, " Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately. "**

**"And go where?" Chiron asked. **

**"West!" Bianca said. I was amazed at how different she looked after just a few days with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so you could actually see her face. **

Nico looked over at his sister Bianca. He noticed how she matched the discription right now as well. _She must have been taken sortly after that point in time. _Nico realized.

**She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded me of someone famous, but I couldn't think who. She looked like she'd been working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight. **

"Yep, that's totally what the Hunters do." Thalia scoffed in response.

**"You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go. "**

"Didn't you listen to the Prophecy?" Will asked in disbelief. "'Hunters and Campers together must prevail.' You have a mix of hunters and campers."

Thalia grinned at Will's response as she continued to read.

**"Yes, " Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."**

**"You're missing something, as usual, " Thalia said. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together. "**

"Exactly!" Will said.

Zoe rolled her eyes at their similar statements.

**"No!" Zoe said. "The Hunters do not need thy help. "**

**"Your," Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times. "**

**Zoe hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. " Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help. "**

They couldn't help but laugh at that part.

**Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it. "**

**"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help, " Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate. "**

**"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"**

"He's just a ray of sunshine isn't he?" Leo grumbled.

**"Mr. D, " Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"**

**Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful. "**

**"We're supposed to work together, " Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"**

"You definitly don't want to do that." Clarisse told them.

**Zoe grimaced, but I could tell Thalia had scored a point. **

**"We must not delay, " Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice. "**

**"Oh, joy, " Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting. "**

"I disagree," Clarisse replied. The others turned to look at her. "I mean think about it there's probably a lot of arguing, and fighting. That doesn't seem very dull to me."

"Of course you would say that." Annabeth grumbled in response.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" She demanded.

"Just that that's what a typical child of Ares would say."

Thalia hurried on reading before a fight could break out between the two. That was the last thing they needed right now.

**"Artemis must be present at the solstice, " Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations. "**

**"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked. **

**"Yes, Lord Dionysus. "**

**Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on. "**

They all laughed at the wine god's response.

**"I must agree with Zoe, " said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is**  
**critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest. "**

**"Three and two, " I said. **

**Everybody looked at me. Thalia even forgot to ignore me. **

"Wow, isn't that something!" Leo exclaimed.

**"We're supposed to have five, " I said, feeling self-conscious. "Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair. "**

**Thalia and Zoe exchanged looks. **

**"Well, " Thalia said. "It does make sense. "**

"Yeah, it actually does." Annabeth frowned.

"What's on your mind Wisegirl?" Percy asked.

"Oh, nothing." She replied. "Just how you are much smarter than you seem."

The son of Poseidon grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled in return.

**Zoe grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength of numbers. "**

**"You'll be retracing the goddess's path, " Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best. "**

"Very good point Chiron." Reyna nodded at the centaur.

**Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first.**

Zoe raised her eyebrows at that. "I was just bored of the meeting. I wasn't thinking of using it as a weapon, boy."

**"This monster-the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be. "**

**Everybody looked at Dionysus, I guess because he was the only god present and gods are supposed to know things. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up, "Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation. "**

"Oh, no we can't have that." Frank commented.

"Wouldn't they make good conversation starters?" Hazel pointed out. "I mean if you were talking about how you had battled or defeated them at least."

"That is true." Zoe remarked.

**"Chiron, " I said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"**

**Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. **

**They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful. "**

"Great, it can't ever be a weak monster that we have to take care of." Piper groaned.

"Of course not that would be too easy." Reyna sighed.

**"That's some serious danger you're facing, " Connor Stoll said. (I liked how he said you and not we. ) "It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die. "**

**"One shall be lost in the land without rain" Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert. "**

Nico flinched at the reminder of what was going to happen. _Oh gods. If this book is in Percy's point of view then does that mean we'll have to read about Bianca's death?_

Will glanced over at Nico and saw that he had gone pale. Will hurried over to him worried about the son of Hades. "Are you okay Nico?" The other boy looked like he was about to be sick. The others noticed this development as well.

"Nico are you okay?" Annabeth asked concerned.

The others stopped the reading and were at his side in an instant. Thalia left the bookmark in their place.

"Guys give him some room." Will ordered. Nico was thankful that he had told the others to back up. He had begun to feel claustrophobic.

"Nico, what is it?" Hazel asked.

"It's going to be in the book." Nico told her.

"What is?" Piper questioned.

Nico looked to Bianca with pain in his eyes. Percy saw the look and understood immediately. The son of Poseidon tried to comfort the younger boy. "Hey it's okay. We're all going to be here. I know it'll probably be hard to read about, but you have all of us here to help you through it, alright?"

Nico nodded and tried not to think about it. "Let's continue reading the chapter okay?" He offered weakly.

They took their seats again. Will sat close by the cot near Nico in case anything happened. His haze flickered back and forth between the son of Hades and the book.

Hazel and Reyna sat in a chair right next to Nico's bed there in the infirmary. Jason sat on his other side with Leo. Thalia picked up the book and began to read once more.

**There was a muttering of agreement. **

**"And the Titan's curse must one withstand, " Silena said. "What could that mean?"**

**I saw Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it. **

**"One shall perish by a parent's hand, " Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"**

"Oh, I don't know, maybe..." Leo trailed off as Thalia hurried on with the chapter.

**There was heavy silence around the table. **

**I glanced at Thalia and wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was. Years ago, Chiron had had a prophecy about the next child of the Big Three-Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades-who turned sixteen. Supposedly, that kid would make a decision that would save or destroy the gods forever. Because of that, the Big Three had taken an oath after World War II not to have any more kids. But Thalia and I had been born anyway, and now we were both getting close to sixteen. **

Chiron seemed to get what he was thinking. "I know for a fact Percy that you're father would never do anything to harm you. The same goes for you Thalia."

They both gave the centaur smiles at the statement. Then Thalia continued to read on.

**I remembered a conversation I'd had last year with Annabeth. I'd asked her, if I was so potentially dangerous, why the gods didn't just kill me. **

**Some of the gods would like to kill you, she'd said. But they're afraid of offending Poseidon. **

**Could an Olympian parent turn against his half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and me. I wondered if maybe I should've sent Poseidon that seashell pattern tie for Father's Day after all. **

They all cracked up at Percy's last statement.

"You sure know how to relieve the tension." Jason grinned at the older demigod.

"Well, I do try." Percy told them smiling.

"I do think your father would have liked the tie at any rate." Chiron told him.

"Well, I know what I'm getting him for a father's day present next year then."

**"There will be deaths, " Chiron decided. "That much we know. "**

**"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said. **

**Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me. "**

They all rolled their eyes and or sighed exasperatedly at Mr. D.'s actions.

**"Percy is right, " Silena Beauregard said. "Two campers should go. "**

**"Oh, I see, " Zoe said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"**

**Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"**

**"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at, " Zoe scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"**

Piper shot a glare at the daughter of Atlas. "Don't you dare insult my sister!" She hissed like an angry mongose. Piper looked as if she was about to attack the past leutenant of Artemis.

Clarisse jumped up and looked as if she was about to as well. She would have been happy to help the daughter of Aphrodite. No one insulted Silena and got away with it.

Frank grabbed Clarisse's arm. "I know that you're mad at Zoe right now. But if you want to fight it out wait until we finish reading these books."

"Once we finish reading the books She'll be gone. Back to her time." Clarisse snapped angrily. "Then I won't get to do anything to her, because we all know what will happen on the Quest."

Zoe's gaze locked on the daughter of Ares. "What do you mean 'I won't get to do anything to her.' What happens on the quest?" She demanded.

"You'll find out when we finish the book." Percy said looking downcast at the reminder of what was to happen to the two huntresses.

"Well, that was disappointing." Coach Hedge sighed, "I was hoping for some action finally."

The half-bloods, Centaur, and the other Satyr shook their heads in exasperation.

Thalia found her place in the book and she read on before Piper and Clarisse started a fight with Zoe Nightshade.

**Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back. **

**"Stop it, " Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tended to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"**

**Zoe stood. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker. "**

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Percy commented.

"Why, what happens to Phoebe?" Jason asked.

"I think it'll be either in this chapter of the next one." The son of Poseidon told him.

**"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously. **

**Zoe nodded. **

**"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Connor added.. **

**"Yes, " Zoe snapped. "Why?"**

Percy winced internally remembering exactly what the Stoll brothers were talking about. They must be getting ready for their plan for what Aphrodite told them to do. That was why he would be able to go on the quest.

It wasn't that he wasn't grateful that Aphrodite helped him go on the quest. He most definitly was appeciative. Still, he couldn't help but feel bad for the huntress Phoebe; thinking of what they did to her on Aprhodites orders.

**"Oh, nothing, " Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store. " He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"**

**I knew the Stolls were up to something. They always were.**

"Just remember that with the Stoll brothers they are always planning something unpleasant; usually it's pranks." Will told the others.

**But I guess Zoe didn't know them as well as I did. She just sighed and took the T-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go. "**

**Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But... I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good. "**

**"You will do fine, " Zoe insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself. "**

"No better way to get yourself killed is more like it." Nico muttered. Most of his color had returned, well the little color he had since the whole experience in Tartarus.

Hazel, Leo, Jason, and Reyna were the only ones that heard Nico's comment as they were sitting close to him. They all looked at him with pity and concern.

"So it's in this book that... it happens?" Hazel said cautiously.

Nico nodded in reply, avoiding their gazes.

"Oh, Nico!" Hazel said symapthetically. She hugged him tightly; which he returned.

**Bianca closed her mouth. I felt kind of sorry for her. I remembered my first quest when I was twelve. I had felt totally unprepared. A little honored, maybe, but a lot resentful and plenty scared. I figured the same things were running around in Bianca's head right now. **

"They were." Bianca affirmed Percy's thoughts.

**"And for campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met mine, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. **

**"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap. "Anything to help Artemis!"**

**Zoe wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood. "**

"But Grover is a camper though, right?" Rachel replied.

"Yes, he is." Chiron told her.

**"But he is a camper, " Thalia said. "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"**

**"Absolutely!"**

**Zoe wavered. I didn't know what a tracker's song was, but apparently Zoe thought it was a good thing. **

"A tracker's son helps you find someone, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth told him.

"Well, I find out that later." Percy responded.

**"Very well, " Zoe said. "And the second camper?"**

**"I'll go. " Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her. **

**Now, okay, maybe my math skills weren't the best, but it suddenly occurred to me that we'd reached the number five, and I wasn't in the group. "Whoa, wait a sec, " I said. "I want to go too. "**

"I don't think that this will end well either." Jason responded.

"Probably not." Leo agreed.

**Thalia said nothing. Chiron was still studying me, his eyes sad. **

**"Oh, " Grover said, suddenly aware of the problem. "Whoa, yeah, I forgot! Percy has to go. I didn't mean... I'll stay. Percy should go in my place. "**

**"He cannot, " Zoe said. "He is a boy. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy. "**

"You traveled there with him though." Piper shot back. She was still steaming about Zoe's comment about her older half-sister. Even if she had never gotten to know Silena personally; she had heard nothing but good things about her.

"That was under different circumstances." Zoe responded icily. "It was an emergency and it was ordered by Lady Artemis."

**"You traveled here with me, " I reminded her. **

**"That was a short-term emergency, and it was ordered by the goddess. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of a boy. "**

**"What about Grover?" I demanded. **

**Zoe shook her head. "He does not count. He's a satyr. He is not technically a boy. "**

"Technically he is a boy." Annnabeth replied. "He is a male."

"Thank you Annabeth." Grover replied.

**"Hey!" Grover protested. **

**"I have to go, " I said. "I need to be on this quest. "**

**"Why?" Zoe asked. "Because of thy friend Annabeth?"**

"Of course." Percy replied as if it was obvious; which it was.

Annabeth beamed at her boyfriend in response.

**I felt myself blushing. I hated that everyone was looking at me. "No! I mean, partly. I just feel like I'm supposed to go!"**

**Nobody rose to my defense. Mr. D looked bored, still reading his magazine. Silena, the Stoll brothers, and Beckendorf were staring at the table. Bianca gave me a look of pity. **

**"No, " Zoe said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a satyr if I must, but not a male**  
**hero. "**

"What have you got against male heroes?" Jason asked.

"It's in the book guys." Percy told them. "Much later but it is there."

Zoe flinched at the thought of them all knowing. "Why is it in the book?"

Percy stayed silent and Thalia picked up from where she left off.

**Chiron sighed. "The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions. "**

**My ears were ringing as I sat down. I knew Grover and some of the others were looking at me sympathetically, but I couldn't meet their eyes. I just sat there as Chiron concluded the council. **

**"So be it, " he said. "Thalia and Grover will accompany Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods"-he glanced at Dionysus-"present company included, we hope-be with you. "**

"And they actually were for a change." Thalia commented before returning to the book.

The others that hadn't witnessed the past events just looked confused by her statement.

**I didn't show up for dinner that night, which was a mistake, because Chiron and Grover came looking for me. **

**"Percy, I'm so sorry!" Grover said, sitting next to me on the bunk. "I didn't know they'd-that you'd-Honest!"**

**He started to sniffle, and I figured if I didn't cheer him up he'd either start bawling or chewing up my mattress. He tends to eat household objects whenever he gets upset. **

**"It's okay, " I lied. "Really. It's fine. "**

"You shouldn't have lied." Grover told him. He felt slightly guilty as he remembered the events.

"I got to go on the quest anyway." Percy reminded him, "So it's all good."

"What do you mean you got to go on the quest?" Zoe demanded.

"I said the same thing earlier during the last chapter." The son of Poseidon pointed out. "And you said nothing then."

"I was ignoring you earlier." Zoe told him.

Percy replied. "Let's just keep reading. You find out in the book anyways."

**Grover's lower lip trembled. "I wasn't even thinking... I was so focused on helping Artemis. But I promise, I'll look everywhere for Annabeth. If I can find her, I will."**

**I nodded and tried to ignore the big crater that was opening in my chest. **

Annabeth hugged Percy who was quick to return it.

**"Grover, " Chiron said, "perhaps you'd let me have a word with Percy?"**

**"Sure, " he sniffled. **

**Chiron waited, "Oh, " Grover said. "You mean alone. Sure, Chiron. " He looked at me miserably. "See? Nobody needs a goat. "**

"That's not what I was implying at all Grover." Chiron assured the young Satyr.

Grover nodded in reply.

**He trotted out the door, blowing his nose on his sleeve. **

**Chiron sighed and knelt on his horse legs. "Percy, I don't pretend to understand**  
**prophecies. "**

**"Yeah, " I said. "Well, maybe that's because they don't make any sense. "**

**Chiron gazed at the saltwater spring gurgling in the corner of the room. "Thalia would not have been my first choice to go on this quest. She's too impetuous. She acts without thinking. She is too sure of herself."**

"Wow, thanks Chiron." Thalia replied.

"I was only saying what I observed and what I know about you Thalia." Chiron told her.

"I know." She sighed. She then contined to read.

**"Would you have chosen me?"**

**"Frankly, no, " he said. "You and Thalia are much alike. "**

**"Thanks a lot. "**

The others grinned at that sentence.

**He smiled. "The difference is that you are less sure of yourself than Thalia. That could be good or bad. But one thing I can say: both of you together would be a dangerous thing. "**

**"We could handle it. "**

**"The way you handled it at the creek tonight?"**

**I didn't answer. He'd nailed me. **

"Burn!" Leo commented. He finished drawing Tyson and Ella in his picture. He started to debate who else he should add in the picture. He knew for a fact though that Octavian would not be a part of it. He hated that evil, scarecrow.

**"Perhaps it is for the best, " Chiron mused. "You can go home to your mother for the holidays. If we need you, we can call. "**

**"Yeah, " I said. "Maybe. "**

**I pulled Riptide out of my pocket and set it on my nightstand. It didn't seem that I'd be using it for anything but writing Christmas cards. **

"I'm sure you'll be using it for monster slaying in no time." Frank commented.

"Yep, sure will." Percy agreed with the son of Mars.

**When he saw the pen, Chiron grimaced. "It's no wonder Zoe doesn't want you along, I suppose. Not while you're carrying that particular weapon. "**

**I didn't understand what he meant. Then I remembered something he'd told me a long time ago, when he first gave me the magic sword: It has a long and tragic history, which we need not go into. **

**I wanted to ask him about that, but then he pulled a golden drachma from his saddlebag and tossed it to me. "Call your mother, Percy. Let her know you're coming home in the morning. **

"But, you won't be will you?" Reyna asked.

"Definitly not. Especially with Annabeth in trouble." Percy explained.

Annabeth gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek in response.

**And, ah, for what it's worth... I almost volunteered for this quest myself. I would have gone, if not for the last line. "**

**"One shall perish by a parent's hand. Yeah. "**

**I didn't need to ask. I knew Chiron's dad was Kronos, the evil Titan Lord himself. The line would make perfect sense if Chiron went on the quest. Kronos didn't care for anyone, including his own children. **

"He's a jerk." Hazel declared.

"That's putting it mildly." Rachel responded.

**"Chiron, " I said. "You know what this Titan's curse is, don't you?"**

**His face darkened. He made a claw over his heart and pushed outward-an ancient gesture for warding off evil. "Let us hope the prophecy does not mean what I think. Now, good night, Percy. And your time will come. I'm convinced of that. There's no need to rush. "**

**He said **_**your time**_** the way people did when they meant **_**your death**_**. I didn't know if Chiron meant it that way, but the look in his eyes made me scared to ask. **

Chiron sighed, he hadn't expected Percy to pick up that.

**I stood at the saltwater spring, rubbing Chiron's coin in my hand and trying to figure out what to say to my mom. I really wasn't in the mood to have one more adult tell me that doing nothing was the greatest thing I could do, but I figured my mom deserved an update. **

The others nodded agreeing with Percy's thoughts.

**Finally, I took a deep breath and threw in the coin. "O goddess, accept my offering."**

**The mist shimmered. The light from the bathroom was just enough to make a faint rainbow. **

**"Show me Sally Jackson, " I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan. "**

They all listened intently as Thalia read.

**And there in the mist was a scene I did not expect. My mom was sitting at our kitchen table with some... Guy. They were laughing hysterically. There was a big stack of textbooks between them. The man was, I don't know, thirty-something, with longish salt-and-pepper hair and a brown jacket over a black T-shirt. He looked like an actor-like a guy who might play an undercover cop on television. **

"Paul?" Annabeth guessed.

"Paul." Percy confirmed.

**I was too stunned to say anything, and fortunately, my mom and the guy were too busy laughing to notice my Iris-message. **

**The guy said, "Sally, you're a riot. You want some more wine?"**

**"Ah, I shouldn't. You go ahead if you want**. "

**"Actually, I'd better use your bathroom. May I?"**

**"Down the hall, " she said, trying not to laugh. **

**The actor dude smiled and got up and left. **

They all exchanged looks with one another, wondering who he was.

**"Mom!" I said. **

**She jumped so hard she almost knocked her textbooks off the table. Finally she focused on me. "Percy! Oh, honey! Is everything okay?"**

**"What are you doing?" I demanded. **

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded.

"Sorry," He said sheepishly.

**She blinked. "Homework. " Then she seemed to understand the look on my face. "Oh, honey, that's just Paul-um, Mr. Blofis. He's in my writing seminar. "**

**"Mr. Blowfish?"**

They all grinned at that line.

**"Blofis. He'll be back in a minute, Percy. Tell me what's wrong. "**

**She always knew when something was wrong. I told her about Annabeth. The other stuff too, but mostly it boiled down to Annabeth. **

The others smiled sadly in response.

**My mother's eyes teared up. I could tell she was trying hard to keep it together for my sake. "Oh, Percy... "**

**"Yeah. So they tell me there's nothing I can do. I guess I'll be coming home. "**

**She turned her pencil around in her fingers. "Percy, as much as I want you to come home"-she sighed like she was mad at herself-"as much as I want you to be safe, I want you to understand something. You need to do whatever you think you have to. "**

The demigods all exchanged looks, wondering if Percy's mother was telling him what they thought that she was.

**I stared at her. "What do you mean?"**

**"I mean, do you really, deep down, believe that you have to help save her? Do you think it's the right thing to do? Because I know one thing about you, Percy. Your heart is always in the right place. Listen to it. "**

**"You're... You're telling me to go?"**

They all listened intently as Thalia read on.

**My mother pursed her lips. "I'm telling you that... You're getting too old for me to tell you what to do. I'm telling you that I'll support you, even if what you decide to do is**  
**dangerous. I can't believe I'm saying this. "**

**"Mom-"**

**The toilet flushed down the hall in our apartment. **

**"I don't have much time, " my mom said. "Percy, whatever you decide, I love you. And I know you'll do what's best for Annabeth. "**

Nico ignored the pain in his heart at that statement.

**"How can you be sure?"**

**"Because she'd do the same for you. "**

All of them, including Chiron, and the two satyrs smiled at that statement, with the exception of Nico.

**And with that, my mother waved her hand over the mist, and the connection dissolved, leaving me with one final image of her new friend, Mr. Blowfish, smiling down at her. **

**I don't remember falling asleep, but I remember the dream. **

**I was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above me. Annabeth was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass that looked like a pile of boulders. She was too tired even to cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, I knew she would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of her. **

They all gritted their teeth at the last statement.

Percy sighed, "Look guys, Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, and I have already made peace with Luke and his actions. We did so right before he died. You'll understand his actions later."

"That doesn't make what he did right." Frank argued.

"No, it doesn't." Luke agreed with the shapeshifter. This surprised the rest of them.

**"How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed. **

**It wasn't Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, like a knife scraped across stone. **

**I'd heard it taunting me many times before in my dreams. But this voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate. **

**Luke emerged from the shadows. He ran to Annabeth, knelt beside her, then looked back at the unseen man. "She's fading. We must hurry. "**

**The hypocrite. Like he really cared what happened to her. **

Luke winced a felt a sharp pain in his chest at the reminder of his past selves actions.

**The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of my dream. **

**Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light-Artemis-her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains. **

Zoe and Bianca leaned forward absorbing this information.

**I gasped. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods. **

**"You heard the boy, " said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"**

The two huntresses of the past seethed silently in anger at the state of their goddess.

**Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. I didn't know why she just didn't will the chains to**  
**burst, or make herself disappear, but she didn't seem able to. Maybe the chains prevented her, or some magic about this dark, horrible place. **

**The goddess looked at Annabeth and her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!"**

The two girls looked deadly in that moment. They pulled out their hunting knives and began to sharpen them, while glaring at Luke sitting in the room.

Luke swallowed nervously and scooted away from the two huntresses of Atremis.

**"She will die soon, " Luke said. "You can save her. "**

**Annabeth made a weak sound of protest. My heart felt like it was being twisted into a knot. **

**I wanted to run to her, but I couldn't move. **

"I hate it when that happens." Leo commented, as he continued to work on his drawing. His friends nodded in agreement.

**"Free my hands, " Artemis said. **

**Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess's handcuffs. **

**Artemis ran to Annabeth and took the burden from her shoulders. Annabeth collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the black rocks. **

Zoe turned to Percy. "Perhaps you were right Percy."

They all stared at the huntress in disbelief. "About what?" Percy said dumfounded.

"You should have come on the quest with us from the beginning. Your demigod dreams so as much."

"Thanks Zoe." Percy said pleasantly surprised.

Thalia picked up the book and began to read once more.

**The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis. "**

**"You surprised me, " the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again. "**

**"Indeed it will not, " the man said. "Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear. "**

They glared at the book as if it was the man himself.

"Who is that man?" Piper demanded. "I'd like to kick him where the sun doesn't shine." The daughter of Aphrodite growled to emphasise her point.

Zoe's eyes lit up. She looked as if she were about to laugh at Piper's statement. "That man, if I am correct is my father."

"He sounds like a real jerk." Hazel concluded.

"He is, one of the worst jerks." Zoe agreed. "But nevermind that let's continue the chapter now."

"Who is your father Zoe?" Bianca asked curiously.

"Tis, not important right now." She responded.

**Artemis groaned "You know nothing of mercy, you swine. "**

**"On that, " the man said, "we can agree. Luke, you may kill the girl now. "**

**"No!'" Artemis shouted. **

**Luke hesitated. "She-she may yet be useful, sir.. Further bait. "**

"He still cares about Annabeth." Nico spoke up.

They all turned to look at him for a further explanation.

The son of Hades began to elaborate. "He hesitated, that shows that he doesn't want to hurt Annabeth, and that he still cares for her."

**"Bah! You truly believe that?"**

**"Yes, General. They will come for her. I'm sure. "**

**The man considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard her here. Assuming she does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, her life will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be**  
**meaningless. "**

**Luke gathered up Annabeth's listless body and carried her away from the goddess. **

They sat silently listening as the daughter of Zeus continued to read. The only sound they heard was Leo's pencil as he continued to draw.

**"You will never find the monster you seek, " Artemis said. "Your plan will fail. "**

**"How little you know, my young goddess, " the man in the shadows said. "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. **

**Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is... Challenging. "**

**The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse. **

They all looked nervous at that paragraph. They really hoped the cave's ceiling wouldn't collapse on them.

**I woke with a start. I was sure I'd heard a loud banging. I looked around the cabin. It was dark outside. The salt spring still gurgled. No other sounds but the hoot of an owl in the woods and the distant surf on the beach. **

**In the moonlight, on my nightstand was Annabeth's New York Yankees cap. I stared at it for a second and then:BANG BANG. **

They glanced at each other wondering what it could possibly be.

**Someone, or something, was pounding on my door. I grabbed Riptide and got out of bed. **

**"Hello?" I called. THUMP. THUMP. I crept to the door. **

**I uncapped the blade, flung open the door, and found myself face-to-face with a black pegasus. **

"Blackjack?" Jason guessed.

"Yep." Percy replied.

**Whoa, boss! Its voice spoke in my mind as it clopped away from the sword blade. I don't wanna be a horse-ke-bob!**

**Its black wings spread in alarm, and the wind buffeted me back a step, "Blackjack, " I said, relieved but a little irritated. "It's the middle of the night!"**

**Blackjack huffed. Ain't either, boss. It's five in the morning. What you still sleeping for?**

The demigods all laughed at the pegasus's reply.

**"How many times have I told you? Don't call me boss. "**

**Whatever you say, boss. You're the man. You're my number one.**

They laughed once again at Blackjack's replys.

**I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and tried not to let the pegasus read my thoughts. That's the problem with being Poseidon's son: since he created horses out of sea foam, I can understand most equestrian animals, but they can understand me, too. Sometimes, like in Blackjacks case, they kind of adopt me. **

"Awe, that's so sweet." Piper gushed.

The others agreed.

**See, Blackjack had been a captive on board Luke's ship last summer, until we'd caused a little distraction that allowed him to escape. I'd really had very little to do with it, seriously, but Blackjack credited me with saving him. **

"Wait, was Blackjack the pegasus mentioned in the last book?" Hazel asked him.

"Yep, that was him." Percy affirmed.

**"Blackjack, " I said, "you're supposed to stay in the stables. "**

**Meh, the stables. You see Chiron staying in the stables?**

**"Well... No. "**

"He had a point there." Clarisse gruffly replied.

**Exactly. Listen, we got another little sea friend needs your help. **

**"Again?"**

**Yeah. I told the hippocampi I'd come get you. **

**I groaned. Anytime I was anywhere near the beach, the hippocampi would ask me to help them with their problems. And they had a lot of problems. Beached whales, porpoises caught in fishing nets, mermaids with hangnails-they'd call me to come underwater and help. **

"Mermaids with hangnails?" Rachel raised an eyebrow at that.

**"All right, " I said. "I'm coming. "**

**You're the best, boss. **

**"And don't call me boss!"**

They all snorted in laughter.

**Blackjack whinnied softly. It might've been a laugh. **

**I looked back at my comfortable bed. My bronze shield still hung on the wall, dented and unusable. And on my nightstand was Annabeth's magic Yankees cap. On an impulse, I stuck the cap in my pocket. I guess I had a feeling, even then, that I wasn't coming back to my cabin for a long, long time. **

Thalia put the bookmark in place. She then handed the book off to Rachel.

She cleared her throat before reading where the daughter of Zeus left off.

* * *

Author's notes: I apologize once again for the long wait. My Depression as usual is making it very hard for me to write. I don't know when the next update will be but I'll try to get started on it during the weekend.


	8. Chapter 8

Integrity

Chapter 8

Rachel's reading

Author's notes: I don't own any of the stuff in Bold. It all belongs to the amazing Rick Riordan. I hope you all enjoy reading this. Has it really been almost 4 months since I last updated? Wow! I didn't realize that until I looked at my list of stories. I'm really sorry for the long wait. My Depression has been really bad. I'll try to start on the next chapter soon. I can't remember if Zoe ever told Thalia about her dream so I'm assuming that she didn't. If I find out later that she did I'll go back and edit that part of this chapter later. Also to the person that mentioned their anger (I don't know it that's the right word for it) about only Annabeth talking to him about his suicidal thoughts. I'll try to have the others talk to him later on it this story. Anyways, you have all waited long enough. Enjoy reading this! :)

* * *

Everyone listened intently as the Oracle of Delphi read.

**Chapter 8: I Make A Dangerous Promise**

Nico winced remembering what was going to happen in this chapter. The others shot him looks of concern which he ignored.

**Blackjack gave me a ride down the beach, and I have to admit it was cool. Being on a flying horse, skimming over the waves at a hundred miles an hour with the wind in my hair and the sea spray in my face-hey, it beats waterskiing any day. **

**Here. Blackjack slowed and turned in a circle. Straight down. **

**"Thanks. " I tumbled off his back and plunged into the icy sea. **

**I'd gotten more comfortable doing stunts like that the past couple of years. I could pretty much move however I wanted to underwater, just by willing the ocean currents to change around me and propel me along, I could breathe underwater, no problem, and my clothes never got wet unless I wanted them to. **

"That is pretty cool." Bianca commented.

"Yeah," Percy said softly. He avoided looking at Bianca. Guilt filled him remembering what had happened to her.

She frowned in confusion. _Why was Percy acting like that? What had she done?_

**I shot down into the darkness. **

**Twenty, thirty, forty feet. The pressure wasn't uncomfortable. I'd never tried to push it-to see if there was a limit to how deep I could dive. I knew most regular humans couldn't go past two hundred feet without crumpling like an aluminum can. I should've been blind, too, this deep in the water at night, but I could see the heat from living forms, and the cold of the currents. It's hard to describe. It wasn't like regular seeing, but I could tell where everything was. **

**As I got closer to the bottom, I saw three hippocampi-fish-tailed horses-swimming in a circle around an overturned boat. The hippocampi were beautiful to watch. Their fish tails shimmered in rainbow colors, glowing phosphorescent. Their manes were white, and they were galloping through the water the way nervous horses do in a thunderstorm. Something was upsetting them. **

"No, really?" Leo rolled his eyes, responding with sarcasm.

**I got closer and saw the problem. A dark shape-some kind of animal-was wedged halfway under the boat and tangled in a fishing net, one of those big nets they use on trawlers to catch everything at once. I hated those things. It was bad enough they drowned porpoises and dolphins, but they also occasionally caught mythological animals. When the nets got tangled, some lazy fishermen would just cut them loose and let the trapped animals die. **

"Jerks." Bianca declared.

The others agreed with the daughter of Hades wholeheartedly.

**Apparently this poor creature had been mucking around on the bottom of Long Island Sound and had somehow gotten itself tangled in the net of this sunken fishing boat. It had tried to get out and managed to get even more hopelessly stuck, shifting the boat in the process. **

**Now the wreckage of the hull, which was resting against a big rock, was teetering and threatening to collapse on top of the tangled animal**.

They all glanced at each other worriedly, especially Grover, Coach Hedge, and Chiron.

**The hippocampi were swimming around frantically, wanting to help but not sure how. One was trying to chew the net, but hippocampi teeth just aren't meant for cutting rope. Hippocampi are really strong, but they don't have hands, and they're not (shhh) all that smart. **

**Free it, lord! A hippocampus said when it saw me. The others joined in, asking the same thing. **

**I swam in for a closer look at the tangled creature. At first I thought it was a young hippocampus. I'd rescued several of them before. But then I heard a strange sound, something that did not belong underwater:**

**"Mooooooo!"**

They all raised eyesbrows, exchanging looks of surprise.

"A sea cow?" Leo said in disbelief.

"Yep, that's Bessie." Percy smiled happily.

"What?" Frank said bewildered.

"It'll be explaned in the book." Annabeth assured them.

**I got next to the thing and saw that it was a cow. I mean... I'd heard of sea cows, like manatees and stuff, but this really was a cow with the back end of a serpent. The front half was a calf-a baby, with black fur and big, sad brown eyes and a white muzzle-and its back half was a black-and-brown snaky tail with fins running down the top and bottom, like an enormous eel. **

**"Whoa, little one, " I said. "Where did you come from?"**

**The creature looked at me sadly. "Moooo!"**

"Awe!" Hazel and Piper cooed in sympathy for the sea creature.

**But I couldn't understand its thoughts. I only speak horse. **

**We don't know what it is, lord, one of the hippocampi said. Many strange things are**

**stirring. **

**"Yeah, " I murmured. "So I've heard. "**

**I uncapped Riptide, and the sword grew to full length in my hands, its bronze blade gleaming in the dark. **

**The cow serpent freaked out and started struggling against the net, its eyes full of terror. "Whoa!" I said. "I'm not going to hurt you! Just let me cut the net. "**

"A dagger would have been better." Zoe pointed out.

"Well, I didn't have one on me." Percy replied.

**But the cow serpent thrashed around and got even more tangled. The boat started to tilt, stirring up the muck on the sea bottom and threatening to topple onto the cow serpent. The hippocampi whinnied in a panic and thrashed in the water, which didn't help. **

They all looked worried for the animal at that sentence, especially the satyrs and hunters of Artemis.

**"Okay, okay!" I said. I put away the sword and started speaking as calmly as I could so the hippocampi and the cow serpent would stop panicking. I didn't know if it was possible to get stampeded underwater, but I didn't really want to find out. "It's cool. No sword. See? No sword. Calm thoughts. Sea grass. Mama cows. Vegetarianism."**

**I doubted the cow serpent understood what I was saying, but it responded to the tone of my voice. The hippocampi were still skittish, but they stopped swirling around me quite so fast. **

"Well, at least they slowed down." Reyna muttered.

**Free it, lord! they pleaded. **

**"Yeah, " I said. "I got that part. I'm thinking."**

**But how could I free the cow serpent when she (I decided it was probably a "she") panicked at the sight of a blade? It was like she'd seen swords before and knew how dangerous they were. **

**"All right, " I told the hippocampi. "I need all of you to push exactly the way I tell you. "**

**First we started with the boat. It wasn't easy, but with the strength of three horsepower,**

"Horsepower!" Leo cracked up laughing, "Good one Percy!"

"Thanks!" Percy replied with a grin.

The others rolled their eyes at both of them.

**we managed to shift the wreckage so it was no longer threatening to collapse on the baby cow serpent. Then I went to work on the net, untangling it section by section, getting lead weights and fishing hooks straightened out, yanking out knots around the cow serpent's hooves. It took forever-I mean, it was worse than the time I'd had to untangle all my video game controller wires. The whole time, I kept talking to the cow fish, telling her everything was okay while she mooed and moaned. **

**"It's okay, Bessie, " I said. Don't ask me why I started calling her that. It just seemed like a good cow name. "Good cow. Nice cow. "**

**Finally, the net came off and the cow serpent zipped through the water and did a happy somersault. **

They all smiled happily at that line. They were glad that they had managed to free the sea cow, Bessie.

**The hippocampi whinnied with joy. Thank you, lord!**

**"Moooo!"The cow serpent nuzzled me and gave me the big brown eyes. **

**"Yeah, " I said. "That's okay. Nice cow. Well... Stay out of trouble. "**

"You're the one who should be staying out of trouble." Annabeth pointed out.

"Hey!" He protested once again.

The other laughed and agreed with the daughter of Athena.

**Which reminded me, I'd been underwater how long? An hour, at least. I had to get back to my cabin before Argus or the harpies discovered I was breaking curfew. **

**I shot to the surface and broke through. Immediately, Blackjack zoomed down and let me**  
**catch hold of his neck. He lifted me into the air and took me back toward the shore. **

**Success, boss?**

**"Yeah. We rescued a baby... Something or other. Took forever. Almost got stampeded. "**

"Luckily you didn't." Jason commented.

**Good deeds are always dangerous, boss. You saved my sorry mane, didn't you?**

**I couldn't help thinking about my dream, with Annabeth crumpled and lifeless in Luke's arms. Here I was rescuing baby monsters, but I couldn't save my friend. **

**As Blackjack flew back toward my cabin, I happened to glance at the dining pavilion. I saw a figure-a boy hunkered down behind a Greek column, like he was hiding from someone. **

They all listened intently wondering who it was.

**It was Nico, but it wasn't even dawn yet. Nowhere near time for breakfast. What was he doing up there?**

They all looked towards the mentioned boy, wondering the exact same thing.

**I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was more time for Nico to tell me about his Mythomagic game. But something was wrong. I could tell by the way he was crouching. **

**"Blackjack, " I said, "set me down over there, will you? Behind that column. "**

**I almost blew it. **

**I was coming up the steps behind Nico. He didn't see me at all. He was behind a column, peeking around the corner, all his attention focused on the dining area. I was five feet away from him, and I was about to say What are you doing? real loud, when it occurred to me that he was pulling a Grover: he was spying on the Hunters. **

The three huntresses looked back to the Son of Hades, wondering why exactly he was spying on them.

The others laughed at the last line, while Grover blushed in response.

**There were voices-two girls talking at one of the dining tables. At this ungodly hour of the morning? Well, unless you're the goddess of dawn, I guess. I took Annabeth's magic cap out of my pocket and put it on. **

**I didn't feel any different, but when I raised my arms I couldn't see them. I was**  
**invisible. **

**I crept up to Nico and sneaked around him. I couldn't see the girls very well in the dark, but I knew their voices: Zoe and Bianca. It sounded like they were arguing. **

The rest of the demigods, satyrs, and Centaur raised eyebrows but continued to listen as Rachel read on.

**"It cannot be cured, " Zoe was saying. "Not quickly, at any rate. "**

**"But how did it happen?" Bianca asked. **

**"A foolish prank, " Zoe growled. "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of that Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirt with it. "**

"They what?!" The rest of the demigods yelled.

Zoe glowered at the book remembering that moment. They had been picked up a little bit after that moment and been transported into the future.

**"That's terrible!"**

**"She will live, " Zoe said. "But she'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go. It's up to me... And thee. "**

**"But the prophecy, " Bianca said. "If Phoebe can't go, we only have four. We'll have to pick another. "**

"No, they don't." Percy commented. "I got to go thanks to a certain someone."

Zoe glanced at him. He still hadn't answered her question as to how he had gotten to go on the quest.

The all looked at him confused but turned back to the book a moment later when Rachel cleared her throat and behan to read once more.

**"There is no time, " Zoe said. "We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose one. "**

**"In the land without rain, " Bianca said, "but that can't be here. "**

**"It might be, " Zoe said, though she didn't sound convinced. "The camp has magic borders. Nothing, not even weather, is allowed in without permission. It could be a land without rain. "**

"Or not." Nico muttered.

**"But-"**

**"Bianca, hear me. " Zoe's voice was strained. "I... I can't explain, but I have a sense that we should not pick someone else. It would be too dangerous. They would meet an end worse than Phoebe's. I don't want Chiron choosing a camper as our fifth companion. And... I don't** **want to risk another Hunter. "**

**Bianca was silent. "You should tell Thalia the rest of your dream. "**

**"No. It would not help. "**

"Maybe it would." Piper pointed out. "If you don't tell her you'll never know."

"Exactly," Thalia said exasperated. "If you had told me about your dreams it probably would have been better in the long run."

**"But if your suspicions are correct, about the General-"**

**"I have thy word not to talk about that," Zoe said. She sounded really anguished. "We will find out soon enough. Now come. Dawn is breaking."**

**Nico scooted out of their way. He was faster than me.**

"It was right after this, that Bianca and I were taken here." Zoe informed them. "After we drove into the city."

**As the girls sprinted down the steps, Zoe almost ran into me. She froze, her eyes narrowing. Her hand crept toward her bow, but then Bianca said, "The lights of the Big House are on. Hurry!"**

**And Zoe followed her out of the Pavilion. **

**I could tell what Nico was thinking. He took a deep breath and was about to run after his sister when I took off the invisibility cap and said, "Wait." **

"That probably wasn't the best idea Percy." Annabeth scolded, "He didn't even know you were there. You most likely startled him.

"You're right as you always are." Percy gave her a half-smile.

The others looked at Percy worriedly. They needed to talk to him as soon as they had another break about his sucidal thoughts. Annabeth had already talked to him about it, and relayed to the others what she had found out. And it didn't exactly reassure them that he was going to be alright.

**He almost slipped on the icy steps as he spun around to find me. "Where did you come from?"**

**"I've been here the whole time. Invisible." **

**He mouthed the word **_**invisible. **_**"Wow. Cool."**

**"How did you know Zoe and your sister were here?" **

The others were wondering the exact same thing.

**He blushed. "I heard them walk by the Hermes cabin. I don't . . . I don't sleep too well at camp. So I heard footsteps and them whispering. And so I kind of followed."**

Bianca listened intently to the reading, hoping that she would find some clue as to why her brother and now Percy were acting different around her.

**"And now you're thinking about following them on the quest," I guessed.**

**"How did you know that?"**

**"Because if it was my sister, I'd probably be thinking the same thing. But you can't."**

**He looked defiant. "Because I'm too young?"**

**"Because they won't let you. They'll catch you and send you back here. And . . . yeah, because you're too young. You remember the manticore? There will be lots more like that. More dangerous. Some of the heroes will die."**

"Nice way to stay positive, Percy." Jason commented.

"Why, thank you Jason!" He responded with fake cheerfulness.

**His shoulders sagged. He shifted from foot to foot. "Maybe you're right. But, **_**you **_**can go for me." **

**"Say what?"**

**"You can turn invisible. You can go!"**

**"The Hunters don't like boys," I reminded him. "If they find out-"**

**"Don't let the, find out. Follow them invisibly. Keep an eye on my sister! You have too. Please?"**

Bianca smiled touched at how worried her younger brother was for her safety. He was considering following them just to make sure that she was safe. _If only he still felt that way. _What had she done to make him ignore her?

**"Nico-"**

**"You're planning to go anyway, aren't you?"**

**I wanted to say no. But he looked me in the eyes, and I somehow couldn't lie to him.**

Nico glanced at Percy after that line. He looked away just as quickly.

**"Yeah," I said, "I have to find Annabeth. I have to help, even if they don't want me to."**

**"I won't tell on you," he said. "But you have to promise to keep my sister safe."**

**"I . . . that's a big thing to promise, Nico, on a trip like this. Besides, she's got Zoe, Grover, and Thalia-"**

**"Promise," he insisted.**

The people of the future sent sad, empathetic looks his way. Nico scowled in response and glared at the floor.

**"I'll do my best. I promise that."**

**"Get going, then!" he said. "Good luck!"**

**It was crazy. I wasn't packed. I had nothing but the cap and the sword and the clothes I was wearing. I was supposed to be going home to Manhatten this morning. "Tell Chiron-"**

**"I'll make something up." Nico smiled crookedly. "I'm good at that. Go on!"**

There were some raised eyebrows at the son of Hades' response in the book. How much stuff had he lied about in the past?

Jason shot the others quick glares as if he knew what they were thinking. He looked like he was about to tell them off for it.

Nico said softly. "It's okay, Jason. Just let it go. I understand why they'd think that. Besides I'm used to it by now."

The son of Jupiter looked at him sadly with a frown. "You shouldn't be used to it. You shouldn't have to deal with it at all!"

"Well that's the way life is. Things happen and there's nothing that you can do to stop them." Nico was looking right at Bianca and Zoe when he said that.

The two huntresses shivered at his look. It was as if he knew what was going to happen and he had accepted that there was no way to change it.

"Besides," As he continued his gaze moved back to Jason, "With my father I'll never be accepted anyways."

"That's not true." Will butted in before Percy and Annabeth could. "You push everyone away, because you assume that they'll hate you because of your father. It's not true. I don't hate you, Jason and Piper don't hate you! Frank and Hazel don't hate you! Bianca doesn't hate you! Leo and Reyna don't hate you and neither do Percy, and Annabeth!"

"I don't hate you either kid." Coach Hedge told him.

"Nor do I." Chrion told him his gaze softening.

The Ghost King laughed darkly. "Yeah, I doubt that Percy and Annabeth like me at all."

"Nico!" Annabeth said aghast. "Why would you ever think that?!"

"I can think of plenty of reasons." He replied evenly.

"Name one then," Will countered.

"I tricked Percy and got him captured by my father-"

"That was to get information about your family." Jason protested, "I'm sure Percy understands that."

"Well, not really." Percy admitted, "But I forgave you a long time ago for that!"

"You did what?!" Hazel gasped in shock.

"I blamed him for-" He ignored Hazel's outburst."Well, nevermind, You'll find out in the book anyways."

"Wait a minute." Frank said. "How did Jason even know about that? He wasn't there for that at all."

Nico and Jason both fell silent. Jason glanced at Nico and nodded in the direction of the others. The son of Hades shook his head 'No' vigoriously in reply. The son of Jupter mouthed 'Just do it!'. Nico mouthed back, 'Not a chance'.

"If you two are done." The oracle responded. "I'd like to finish this chapter. There's only one page left." They all quieted down and shifted their focus to the red-haired girl. Rachel cleared her throat and began to finish reading the last page of the chapter.

**I ran, putting on Annabeth's cap. As the sun came up, I turned invisible. I hit the top of Half-Blood hill in time to see the camp's van disapperaing down the farm road, probably Argus taking the Quest group into the city. After that they would be on their own.**

**I felt a twinge of guilt, and stupidity, too. How was I supposed to keep up with them. Run?**

**Then I heard the beating of huge wings. Blackjack landed next to me. He began casually nuzzling a few tufts of grass that stuck through the ice.**

_**If I was guessing, boss, I'd say you need a getaway horse. You interested?**_

**A lump of gratitude stuck in my throat, but I managed to say, "Yeah. Let's fly." **

"That's the end of this chapter." Rachel announced. "Who's reading next?"

"I will," Thalia announced. "Chapter 9: I Learn How To Grow Zombies."

They all raised eyebrows at this line except for Thalia and Grover. They both knew what he was talking about.

* * *

Author's notes: Again I'm very very so very sorry about the long wait. I made myself type up the last part of this chapter so that I could update agian for all of you. I really hope you like this. Feel free to point out punctuation, grammer, and spelling errors so that I can fix them. I didn;t see any while typing but I may have missed some. I'm always open for suggestions for the fanfictions.


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